


The Man From The Sea

by LivingUnderARock



Category: Aquaman (2018), Aquaman (Comics), DC Extended Universe
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Porn With Plot, Questionable Motives, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2019-10-10 04:21:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 32,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17419013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LivingUnderARock/pseuds/LivingUnderARock
Summary: A chance encounter on a beach leads to a series of events and an unlikely romance between a former king of Atlantis and a slightly naive painter from the surface.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my native language. Criticism and comments are very welcome, but please try to be nice..Ok?  
> This story is set after the Aquaman movie (besides the prologue). I'm taking some liberties with this story, and I'm also not very familiar with the comic book material. I'll call this story AU, just to be safe.  
> The first few chapters are most likely rated T, but then the rating will go up to an M or E. You have been warned.  
> I'll try to update once a week, hopefully.

Two months earlier...

 

It was one of the first really warm spring evenings of the year. The sea was almost calm as Sarah grabbed her tripod and backpack and headed to the beach. The walk from her house was a short one and she enjoyed the good weather and the fresh sea air. It was surprisingly peaceful and quiet this evening. The only sounds she could hear around her was the sound of her feet hitting the ground and some seagulls screeching in the distance, further out at sea.

  
She had lived in the old house near the beach for two months now. Even if there still was some work to be done on the old building, she had felt right at home the moment the real estate broker showed her the house. Her friends and family, though, thought her crazy. They didn't like the idea of her moving to an old house in the middle of nowhere. Sarah sighed, and spread her blanket on the ground. In her head, she could still hear her dad's words: "What if some bad people show up, or something terrible happens in that house, and you are all alone?"

  
Sarah figured it was a possible scenario, but on the other hand, bad things could happen wherever she decided to live. She needed the space and the quiet lifestyle that this place offered her. Sarah was an artist, a painter to be more specific. The barren landscapes around her house inspired her, and the silence and lack of other distractions made it easier to work efficiently. And, besides, she had her guard dogs. Buffy and Spike looked like two cute fluff balls with short legs, but they sure knew how to bark if someone came close to her house uninvited.

  
She poured some tea from her thermos into a mug and sat down on the blanket. With the camera and the tripod resting next to her feet, she figured she would do some sketching first. She had found this particular spot two days ago. It was a perfect place to sit and reflect about life, since she was surrounded by large rocks that protected her from the wind if needed and the view of the beach was stunning. She opened her backpack and took out her sketch pad and some graphite pencils and started drawing while sipping her tea. When she had finished a few quite detailed sketches, she felt it was enough for today. It was getting dark soon anyway. Her thermos was empty, and she yawned. For a minute she contemplated if she'd be better off going to bed instead of taking pictures of the sunset, as she had planned. But, the sea was calm and the colors vivid and beautiful, and she decided to stay.

  
Just as she was about to screw her camera on to her tripod, her phone buzzed. Apparently a new message on Tinder. Why was she still dealing with this shit? The two Tinder dates she had been on lately were complete disasters. One guy had turned up so drunk that he could barely walk, and the only thing she could do was to order a taxi to take him home. The other one had turned out to be a bit of a catfish. He had lied about his age, and pretty much everything else, it turned out. She let her hand run through her long wavy brown hair. Her bad luck when it came to dating was nothing new though. She swallowed. For a twenty six year old, she was not the most experienced, and also sadly a bit of a hopeless romantic. Still, curiosity got the best of her, and she opened the message.

  
"Hi baby. Wanna have some fun?" Followed by a dick pic. She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or puke. Some guys were complete idiots. Sarah made a disgusted face and blocked the user "Mikeyourman". Almost a shame, really. The guy didn't look bad in his profile picture. But, it was his loss..

  
"Screw him. I'm more into blondes anyway." Sarah chuckled to herself, dropped her phone back into her pocket and started tinkering with her tripod.

  
The tinkering didn't last long though, as her eyes suddenly picked up something moving in the calm water. She dropped her tripod as she saw something rise from the water. Something that looked like a silhouette of a head and a pair of shoulders. What the hell? She instinctively got down on the ground trying to hide behind a large rock. A somewhat human looking figure with a trident in its hand made its way towards the shore. Sarah's heart was beating like a drum in her chest. It was too late to run now. She fumbled with the phone in her pocket and managed to turn the sound off.

  
The figure definitely looked human, a man to be exact, and he was most certainly not a diver, that much was clear. No mask covered the lower part of his face and he had no air tanks on his back. He was a tall man with broad shoulders, and he was dressed in some sort of scaly armor that glittered in the light from the setting sun. He was wearing a dark cape and a weird, and terrifying, helmet with some kind of visor with red eyes covering the upper part of his face.

  
Had he seen her? She hoped not. The man's demeanor told her he was not the type of guy you wanted to mess with. She crawled further behind the large rocks, and tried to pull her blanket with her. A small part of her blanket was the only thing the man could realistically see from where he was standing at the moment. Unless he had x-ray vision or something..

  
Sarah tried her hardest to breathe as quietly as she could. She closed her eyes for a second before she opened them again and dared to peek out between two rocks and take a further look at the man from the sea. He dropped the trident in the white sand and sat down next to it, sighing deeply. Odd. Suddenly Sarah was more fascinated than scared.

  
The man then removed his helmet. First the intimidating mask covering his face, and then the rest of the helmet. He had blond, slicked back hair in a slightly odd hairdo, but other than that he looked like a completely normal guy. Or actually, he had a really handsome face with a straight nose and sharp features.. "Damn it Sarah, you're insane, aren't you.." She slapped herself mentally for even thinking about his good looks in a situation like this.

  
Sarah felt a sharp stone digging into her left knee, and her position started feeling uncomfortable, but she didn't dare move. The man on the beach now held something in his hand, a device of some kind possibly. It made a small clicking sound and a holographic image appeared hovering over his hands. It was extremely hard for Sarah to see what the image was, but after a few seconds she was quite positive it was a portrait of a woman with long hair holding a small child. His wife and child, perhaps?

  
Suddenly the man started crying uncontrollably. His whole body shaking. To her horror, Sarah could feel the buzzing of her phone vibrating in her pocket, but the man didn't seem to hear anything. He was too wrapped up in his own sorrow. Sarah fumbled with her phone until she managed to turn it off completely. She let out a small sigh of relief. The man was still crying, and Sarah swallowed. She felt like an intruder, like she was watching something not meant for anyone else in the world to see. Obviously he was in pain, and she knew that feeling all too well herself.

  
The man touched his own cheek, and looked down at his fingers. He seemed surprised that he had tears running down his face. He shook his head before he wiped away the rest of his tears with the back of his hand. He sighed deeply again and silently stared out at the ocean and the sunset for a while. The minutes felt like hours for Sarah. She was really uncomfortable, and the moisture from the ground was slowly penetrating the fabric of her jeans.

  
It was getting darker, and the sun was almost gone behind the horizon when the man suddenly lifted his helmet from the ground and put it back on before he grabbed his trident and got up on his feet. His gaze swept the beach behind him once before he disappeared back into the water. As fast as he had appeared, he was also gone. Sarah let out a quiet moan as she moved her knee away from the sharp stone digging into her flesh. Still, she didn't dare to get up for a good ten minutes, and when she finally did, it was almost dark. It would be pitch black when she reached her house, she concluded as she stuffed her things into her backpack with shaky hands.

  
That night Sarah checked that her doors were locked four times before she ventured to the kitchen to open a bottle of red wine and make herself a sandwich. She really needed a drink, or perhaps a few, to calm her down. Spike and Buffy followed in her footsteps, and it was obvious that the two corgis could sense that something was a bit off with their human.

  
"Mommy saw something very odd tonight..." She told the dogs, and handed them a slice of cheese each, before she made her own sandwich. The animals silently stared back at her with their round, dark eyes. Tonight it would have been nice if they could talk..

  
After finishing her sandwich, Sarah turned on her computer and searched for the word "Aquaman" on google. There were quite a few results that came up about the metahuman, but it was definitely not the same guy that she saw on the beach. In fact, they didn't look alike at all. Perhaps there were more people out there with the same abilities as Aquaman that kept themselves away from the public eye? She frowned, and continued her search.

  
A few months ago, when she was bedridden with a nasty cold, she had spent her days watching odd conspiracy theory videos, because she had nothing better to do. While most of the topics seemed totally ridiculous, she remembered one thing that had peaked her interest. The underwater civilisation and the sunken kingdom called Atlantis. As expected, she found pages upon pages with theories and sceptics doing their best to debunk the theories. There were grainy pictures of odd creatures looking like fish and mermaids, and people claiming they had seen humans that could breath under water. All of this was nothing new, of course, and there was no conclusive evidence that a civilisation existed deep down in the ocean. As the sceptics said, could a high tech civilisation like Atlantis really exist hidden from the people on the surface? She swallowed the last of her wine, and filled her glass to the brim again. Perhaps it could? At least she was not crazy, she knew what she had seen on the beach today was real.

  
It took her many hours to fall asleep that night, and the excessive consumption of alcohol didn't help her much. She was tossing and turning, and her heart was beating like a drum. She contemplated if she should make a post about what she had seen today on one of the Atlantis forums she had stumbled upon online. Ultimately, she had decided against it though, and she didn't really know why. Something about how utterly heartbroken the man had seemed when he was there alone on the beach made her reluctant to expose him.

  
Now that she was curled up in her warm bed with a dog on each side the man from the sea didn't seem as menacing anymore, but that didn't stop her from wishing he would keep away from her beach in the future.

  
"I'll be just fine without guys with sharp tridents and scary helmets, thank you very much.." She mumbled half to her self and haft to her dogs, before she drifted off to a restless slumber.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for all the kudos, bookmarks and comments. Cool to see that so many of you like my story so far.

Two months later..

  
A week had passed since the tsunami disaster, an event that would change many peoples lives forever. Sarah shook her head as she looked down at her beach. It was covered in mountains of trash, and it stank, like hell. In a way Sarah could understand the motivation for creating the tsunami, though. The pollution that the people on land were responsible for was a ticking time bomb..

  
Everyone on Earth knew about the existence of Atlantis by now, and it seemed to be everything people around her were talking about lately. Hardly surprising, though. Still, there was very little that the public knew about the kingdom under the sea, besides that Aquaman was their new leader and some kind of attack on the surface had been prevented by him. She shuddered, thinking about how close they might have been to something even more devastating.

  
She was happy her area had been only mildly affected by the event. Her house was intact, and Sarah herself was away visiting her dad when the massive waves struck the coast. Many other people weren't as lucky as her though. Her closest neighbor Mr. Smith was one of them.

  
The older man was standing next to her dressed in his regular green jacket and rubber boots. He uttered a few curses into his beard as his pale blue eyes scanned the mountains of plastic and rubble. Mr. Smith had also been lucky enough to escape the disaster, but his brother and a two of his friends were still missing, presumed dead. They were out at sea fishing when the tsunami hit. His own boat and pier were also gone, completely washed away by the ocean.

  
"Well, I guess we have some cleaning to do here." He remarked sarcastically as he lit his pipe and the thick smoke tickled Sarah's nose.

  
"At least we are alive and well.." Sarah tried to sound enthusiastic and the older man chuckled.

  
"Atlantis. Who would have thought the day would come when it is public knowlege that there is a kingdom under the sea. I knew all along. I've seen a thing or two in my day." Mr. Smith sucked on his pipe and Sarah raised an eyebrow.

  
"What have you seen?"

  
"No Aquaman, that's for sure. But, once, many years ago, when I was fishing at night something climbed onto my boat. Something dark and horrible with sharp teeth and claws. I hit it in the head with an axe before it could take a bite out of my shoulder. It screamed like it was something more than just a wild beast. People used to think I was just a crazy old drunk making up stories. Now it's different. Very different.."

  
Sarah nodded.

  
Mr. Smith coughed a few times and Sarah knew from experience that it was a sign that the conversation was over. He was a man of few words, kept mostly to himself, and Sarah liked him the way he was.

  
"I'll see you tomorrow then Mr. Smith. We have a lot of work ahead of us. I'll bring something for us to eat and drink."

  
Mr. Smith nodded good bye and Sarah watched as he walked away towards his house on the other side of the cape. She wondered if she should tell him about the Atlantean she saw that night on the beach. She decided against it though, not really sure why. It wasn't exactly like her story was any less crazy than his. She figured she had all the time in the world to tell him tomorrow, if she decided to do so.

* * *

The next day was rather hot, and Sarah and her neighbor worked on the beach for a few hours in basking sunlight. The stench was overwhelming, and when they were finished, she was drenched in sweat from head to toe. They had made significant progress, but the beach was still a far cry from what it used to look like. Sarah tossed herself clumsily on the ground next to Mr. Smith and opened her backpack. Her neighbor was smoking as he usually did, and Sarah passed him a sandwich and a mug of cold water.

  
"Thank you, but I'll rather have a sip of this first." The old man pulled a silver colored flask from his pocket and drank almost half of the content. He made a disgusted face before offering the flask to Sarah.

  
"Want some?"

  
"Thanks, but no thanks. I think water is enough for me today." Sarah smiled and unpacked her food.

  
"More for me then.." Mr. Smith chucked and took a bite of his sandwich.

  
They ate in silence for quite some time before both decided to call it a day and head home.

  
"I saw something here on the beach, about two months ago.." Sarah suddenly said as her neighbor was about to leave. "A man with a trident. I think he was from Atlantis. He was no monster though, like the one you described. I'm sorry people treated you like you were crazy for so many years for telling your story."

  
Mr. Smith slowly nodded and a small smile appeared on his lips.

  
"Sometimes looks can be deceiving. After what I've seen, I don't trust any creature from the sea." He answered and walked away.

* * *

Early in the evening, after working on some of her paintings, Sarah decided to take the dogs out for a longer walk. It was still hot, and the air slightly humid. As she walked along the paths around her house the heavy, salty smell of the summer sea surrounded her. She was walking, lost in her own thoughts, contemplating new ideas for her paintings, until the dogs suddenly stopped dead in their tracks and started sniffing in the air.

  
"Hey, what's wrong?" Sarah frowned. Perhaps they had caught the scent of a deer?

  
Instead of pulling her towards the woods, they started moving down to the beach, a place Sarah had no plans of visiting tonight. She'd had enough of the smell after the cleaning session earlier. Spike and Buffy had other plans, though, and she followed. It was odd to see the dogs this riled up. Clearly they were smelling something down at the beach. For a moment Sarah wondered if she should be scared. Who knew what the sea might have washed up? Sometimes her imagination was running a bit wild, and the dark sea creature from Mr. Smith's story had already entered her dreams last night.

  
At first glance the beach looked exactly as she had left it a few hours earlier. The same piles of trash, not looking much more appealing in the light of the setting sun than they had done in the bright afternoon sunlight. The dogs started barking and pulling Sarah closer to the shoreline, and suddenly she could see something. Something rather large washed up on the shore. Her heart sank. It looked like a person.

  
Sarah quickly tied the dogs to a pole sticking out from a pile of rubble, before she rushed over to the person, or corpse, at the water's edge. It didn't take her many steps to get there, but in her head a thousand thoughts were raging. She had only seen one dead body before. She swallowed and felt the bile rising in her throat. She shook her head and looked down at the person lying at her feet.

  
It was a man, dressed in a skin tight, and odd looking wetsuit-like garment. Most of the upper suit was ripped to pieces though, and his body had wounds that looked like claw and bite marks. The man was face down in the water, and his blonde hair a mess of sand and seaweed.

  
Sarah touched his shoulder, and under her fingertips, she could feel warm, damp skin. She turned the man around, and luckily he was still breathing, coughing up water. She knew that face! It was the same man she had seen two months ago. Gone was his fancy armour and he himself looked like he had been through hell. Not far away from him she could see a trident lying in the sand.

  
"Hey! Can you hear me. Please say something." Could he even understand her? She had no idea what kind of language they spoke in Atlantis.

  
The man didn't answer at first, but at least he opened his eyes and looked at her seemingly confused about where he was or perhaps if he was even alive in the first place. What should she do? She had left her phone at home, and there was no chance in hell she would be able to carry, or even drag him to her house. The dogs were barking restlessly in the background. Suddenly the man spoke though.

  
"Who are you?" Even in the messed up state the man was in his voice sounded surprisingly steady and demanding.

  
"My name is Sarah. I live nearby. I found you here washed up on the beach. You need help. I want to help you." She tried her best to sound confident, but she could hear that she sounded anything but. There was something about his intense blue gaze that made her feel very small and insignificant.

  
The man slowly dragged himself up in a sitting position. Even if it must have been painful for him, he didn't make a sound, and barely showed any signs of discomfort on his face. Was he used to this kind of rough treatment? Or did his people not feel pain in the way humans on the surface did? Sarah bit her lower lip as she nervously observed the man in front of her.

  
He took a few deep breaths before looking down at his body, seeing the wounds and bruises.

  
"Look. I can call a doctor. I've left my phone in the house, but It's not that far away..."

  
"I do not need a surface dweller doctor. But I need my trident." The man hissed between gritted teeth and looked demandingly at Sarah.

She hesitantly got up on her feet and walked over to the weapon. Was she really doing this? Potentially handing over a weapon to a man that might use it to kill her. It seemed like he could sense her hesitation and when he spoke again, it almost sounded like he made a deliberate effort to speak in a softer voice.

  
"I will not hurt you. I only need to seal the wound in my leg." The man looked intensely at Sarah as she bent down to pick up the trident. The metal was cool to the touch and the trident was incredibly heavy as Sarah picked it up and cautiously walked over to the man.

  
"Thank you." He simply said as Sarah handed over the weapon. She nodded and swallowed.

  
Just as he had assured her, he did nothing violent, instead he moved his hand over the trident in an odd pattern until she could see one of the points starting to glow. She gasped as he pushed the glowing metal to a particularly nasty, bleeding cut on his leg. He groaned in pain as the hot metal burned his flesh.

  
"Oh, my god! What are you doing? Please let me get help for you." Sarah squealed as the smell of burnt flesh reached her nose. The man looked at her like he was seriously annoyed by her offer, but his face also seemed to get even paler, like he was about to pass out again.

  
"I will heal by myself, in time. I will only need to rest. Leave me alone." He let go of the trident and fell back in the sand his eyes glazed and staring up at the darkening sky.

  
Sarah shook her head in disbelief. Maybe he was dangerous, and maybe she should do as he said? Simply leave him be. But no, she couldn't. She would not let another person die because of her. Maybe he had told her the truth. Perhaps someone like him could heal from his wounds, but it was also possible he was simply delirious and had no idea what he was talking about.

  
"If you'll need to rest, you'll rest in my house, where you are safe. I will not find a corpse here on the beach tomorrow morning." Sarah was almost surprised how demanding she sounded, but at least it had the desired effect on the man. His eyes focused on her for a moment, and it seemed like the gears were turning in his head.

  
"I accept your offer." He finally said, before he hesitantly got up in a sitting position again. Sarah smiled and nodded with approval, but inside she wondered what the hell she was getting herself into.


	3. Chapter 2

Orm woke up surrounded by soft, dry fabric. It was an odd sensation against his skin, and at first he had no idea where he was. Then he remembered the surface dweller woman, how she had found him on the beach and how he, with her help, had managed to drag himself to her house. He sighed and opened his eyes. Everything around him was bright, the light so intense that he had to close his eyes again.

  
His whole body was aching, but it was a good sign. He was healing efficiently. He tried to open his eyes again, and this time he forced himself to keep them open, slowly getting used to the light. He was resting on a narrow, and for his liking, way too soft bed in a small room with white walls. Other than the bed and a chair next to it, the room was pretty much empty.

  
He lifted the covers and looked down at his wounds. The claw and bite marks looked like they were starting to heal. Still, he would need days of rest before he was back to normal. Perhaps even longer as he was recovering on the surface? Going back to the ocean at the moment was not an option though. The creatures from the trench that nearly killed him the day before were without a doubt waiting for him to return to the deep waters.

  
Orm sighed and picked up the glass of water that the surface dweller, Sarah, had left for him on the chair next to the bed. He drank all the water, but he needed more, much more. With a groan, he got out of bed, and wrapped the blanket that had covered him around his hips, since he had nothing else to wear. His legs were weak as he walked across the room, and he didn't like how clumsy his body felt up on land. The thought of staying on the surface for a while was not exactly appealing to him, but at the moment he had no other choice.

  
The door to his room was not closed and the first thing he saw when he entered the next room was the woman sleeping in a large, and soft, chair with armrests. The surface dwellers sure seemed to like everything soft and comfortable, didn't they? Stuffed chairs, fluffy pillows and beds that almost swallowed your body whole. No wonder they were soft and weak themselves.

  
A small smirk curled his lips as he looked down at the sleeping woman. It seemed like she had tried to watch over him as he slept, but had failed miserably, falling asleep herself. She was breathing calmly, and he couldn't help but to think that her long brown hair would look lovely floating with the currents under water. Her legs were nice too, long and toned, and her face was pretty and symmetrical. Pretty, for a creature that was beneath him in every possible way, he corrected himself and looked away from the sleeping female.

  
He shook his head and walked towards another door, hoping to find some water. He knew that the people on the surface had indoor plumbing in their homes, and this house was probably not an exception. He had studied the surface dwellers thoroughly for years. To beat an enemy one needed to have intimate knowledge about how their society worked..

  
Behind the next door, he found what he was looking for, but also the animals that the woman kept as her pets. Dogs, they were apparently called. The two ugly and unappealing furry creatures came walking towards him, wagging their tails. Thankfully they seemed rather harmless, and he simply ignored them and grabbed a glass bowl from a table. After fumbling with the tap he finally managed to get the water running. He filled the bowl to the brim and drank the cold water. It was not the fresh, salty ocean water he was used to, but it had to do.

  
After drinking two more bowls he finally felt somewhat satisfied and leaned against the kitchen counter, resting for a while. He needed something to eat as well. To heal as fast as possible he needed proper nutrition, but he was unsure if the surface dweller had any food in her house that would be adequate for him. He sighed and opened a cupboard. It was full of odd boxes and jars.

  
"Oatmeal.." He read on one of the boxes before he opened it and tasted the odd flaky content. It was dry and disgusting and tasted worse than dirt from the sea floor.

  
He put the box back, and walked over to what the people on land apparently called the refrigerator. A cooling unit made for storing fresh food. Perhaps he would have more luck this time? To his amazement there was a raw salmon resting on one of the shelves. It was wrapped in disgusting plastic, and not completely fresh, but at least it was better than nothing. He ripped away the plastic and took a bite of the fish. Much better than the oatmeal!

 

As he ate, the dogs sat down next to his feet, staring at him with their round, brown eyes. Were they begging for food? Well, they wouldn't get any. He still remembered that time when his father beat him when he tried to sneak food from the table to his pet pygmy shark. He had ended up with a bruised eye, and the next time he saw his shark, it was served to him on a golden platter, it's belly stuffed with seaweed.

  
He gritted his teeth and took another bite of the fish. Looking out of the kitchen window, he could see the ocean in the distance. It was ironic that he had ended up here, on the same beach he had visited only two months ago when things were very different.

  
It all began with a routine visit to a prison colony in a remote part of the kingdom. He visited the prison and watched as the worst and most dangerous criminals in Atlantis were executed. It was something he, as a king, was expected to do each year. The whole ordeal lasted two days, and when it was over he was more than thankful to be back on his ship and on his way back to Atlantis. As he watched the landscapes through the window, he suddenly saw something familiar. Something that reminded him of happier times, when his mother was still alive. It was a shipwreck, he believed the surface dwellers called it an oil tanker, and he knew he had seen it before. He knew he'd been here with his mother, a long time ago.

  
It was not often that the queen, and the young prince had the opportunity to roam the ocean freely, but when they did it was the happiest moments in his life. They swam together and his mother told him tales of the sea, the animals, and the surface world. Sometimes they even visited the surface. His mother's favourite place to take him was a small beach with white sand. There she showed him the wonders of the surface, like sunsets and the stars.

  
But, then his mother was taken away from him, and he forgot about the beach, until he saw that shipwreck again. He knew that if he swam north east from the wreck he would find the beach. He guessed he wanted to relive some precious memories from his childhood, but when he finally found the beach something inside him snapped and he sat there, alone in the sunset, crying like a pathetic little boy.

  
After he lost the fight with Arthur he had spent a few days locked up in a cell in Atlantis. He was miserable and the only thing that kept him alive was the fact that his mothers visited him every day. Until one day she didn't. He later learned that she had gone back to the surface to visit Arthurs father. While she was gone the decision to move him to a secure location to await his trial was made.

  
Officially it was Arthur's decision, but Orm had a sneaking suspicion that it was the damned traitor Vulko who was behind the whole thing. Vulko probably suspected that some of the citizens of Atlantis who were still loyal to Orm would try to break him out. Vulko was afraid of him, and the old man had every reason to be. Indeed, he would be the first one to suffer for betraying Orm. After what Vulko had done he deserved to die.

  
When Orm boarded the ship to the same prison colony he had visited as a king only two months ago, he had no desire to escape. He was a beaten and bitter man, and he was almost annoyed, when a group of his loyal followers attacked the prison transport. Reluctantly, he had accepted the new trident that they had made for him, and listened to them talking about a secret base in a cave system in a remote mountain range.

  
Orm shook his head, everything had gone downhill from there. One of the dogs suddenly made a sound and he looked down. The animal wagged its tail and stared at the half eaten salmon in his hand. Suddenly, without really knowing why, he ripped off two of the smaller fins and dropped them on the floor next to the dogs. They greedily devoured the small pieces of fish. He smirked, and then his thoughts went back to the previous day.

  
When Orm and his loyalists were about to leave the prison transport something unexpected happened. They were attacked by a large horde of creatures from the trench. They were outnumbered at least twenty to one. His people had been killed one by one, leaving only him left alive. Wounded, and disoriented, he swam as fast as he could towards the surface. Through the water, he could see the daylight fading into evening, as he felt his body giving out. He had always been a fast swimmer, way faster than the creatures following him but he could feel himself slowing down and the creatures getting closer and closer. Then suddenly, he saw that familiar shipwreck. The sunken oil tanker gave him hope. He was close to land, and it gave him that extra push to swim faster until he reached the shore where he collapsed in the sand on the same beach he had visited two months before.

He was safe for now, but he wondered what the woman would think if she knew who he really was. She had taken in a man who had murdered thousands of her fellow surface dwellers. Not that he cared what she thought about him, but he needed somewhere to stay as he made plans for the future. He had so many questions that he needed an answer to. Why did the trench creatures attack? Was Arthur behind this? The trench saw Arthur as their king, and he probably had some influence over them with the trident. Still, sending a horde of creatures to kill Orm was not Arthur's style. His brother was a dirty a half breed, but from what Orm could see he was also an honest and straight forward man. If Arthur really wanted him dead, he would have killed him with his own hands when he had the chance. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that the creatures attacked when they did.

  
At the moment he needed time to think about his next move. Chances were that everyone in Atlantis thought he was either dead, or hiding somewhere in the ocean with his loyal followers after a successful prison break. It was highly unlikely that they would search for him on land, at least for now. In a way he was very lucky he had found a place like this to hide. He just needed to give the woman a reason to let him stay until he figured out what to do next. Perhaps he could start by pretending to be in worse shape, and in need of more rest than he was. It would buy him some time, until he gave her a better reason to keep him in the house.

  
Orm swallowed the last of the fish and washed his hands, before leaving the kitchen. The woman was still sleeping in her chair, in the same position as before. He found it odd that she was still asleep despite the fact that the sun was shining directly on her face. He leaned over her and adjusted the curtain so that the sun would no longer hit her face. She mumbled something in her sleep that he could not quite decipher. He left her where she was and went back to his bed to try to get some more sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

Sarah opened her eyes. Shit! She must have slept for a long time. It was probably about noon. She fumbled around in her pockets looking for her phone, but found it on the floor next to the armchair. 11.30. She had probably slept at least five hours. Was the poor guy she had found on the beach still alive? Her throat was dry as she opened the door to her guest room.

She found him sound asleep, partly covered with his blanket. She sighed with relief. He looked a lot better than the night before, and the once terrible wounds on his torso seemed to be healing at an abnormal rate. Abnormal for a human on the surface, at least. Obviously he was very different in that regard. She watched him sleep peacefully for a few minutes before she picked up the empty glass from the chair next to his bed.

  
Sarah quietly walked to the kitchen, where Spike and Buffy were waiting for her, happily wagging their tails.

  
"Hey. Mommy slept a bit too long. I guess you want to go out?"

  
The dogs barked loudly as Sarah opened the door to the backyard, and let them out. She would take them for a walk later, but at the moment she had other things to do. She filled the glass with water and went up to her bedroom to grab a bathrobe, that she thought might possibly fit the man. She had no other clothes than her own, and dressing him up in one of her summer dresses was definitely not an option.

  
She went back to the guest room and put the glass down on the chair. As she did, the man opened his eyes and looked up at her.

  
"Hi, how are you feeling?" Sarah tentatively asked. It crossed her mind that she didn't know his name yet.

  
"Better." He answered.

  
"That's great." Sarah said with a smile and put the folded bathrobe on the chair next to the water glass. "Look, I'm sorry, I don't have anything else for you to wear at the moment. I'll get something for you from my dad's house later. I think his clothes might fit you."

  
"Thank you." He said and looked straight into her eyes. His eyes were a stunning clear blue color, and Sarah could feel her heart beating a bit faster. She swallowed and broke eye contact.

  
"You didn't tell me your name yesterday." Sarah said after a few silent seconds.

  
"My name is Orm." He answered.

  
"Ok, Orm. Would you like something to eat?"

  
"I have to confess that I already helped myself to a fish that I found in your kitchen. My body needs protein to heal. You were asleep, and I didn't want to wake you. I will catch a new fish for you when I go back to the ocean."

  
For the first time there was something that faintly looked like a small smile on his lips. Other than that, the way he talked and behaved made him seem somewhat formal, and earnest. Perhaps it was the way people conducted themselves where he came from? Yet, as she looked into his eyes, she thought she saw something else. Intense and conflicting emotions. Only time would tell what kind of person he really was. Sarah fought the urge to shake her head, and instead she said:

  
"No worries. Is there anything else you need?"

  
"I'd like to use your bathtub, if that is possible. Submerging myself in water will speed up my healing process." He said and got up in a sitting position.

  
"Sure. First door to the right. There are clean towels on the shelf next to the window." She said and caught herself staring at his perfectly sculpted abs. Damn. Sarah could feel her cheeks getting hot, and she was pretty sure her face was the color of a tomato. She quickly turned around and spoke into the white walls: "I'll go and make some coffee. You can find me in the kitchen if there is something you need."

  
As she walked towards the kitchen, she finally sighed loudly and shook her head. She was pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. The guy was good looking, yes, but he was also only here to recover. She was here to help him, not to drool over him. This was what being alone, miserable dating experiences and reading too many romantic fan fics online had done to her.

  
Sarah ripped the lid off the coffee jar and started filling the coffee maker. She needed to chill. Perhaps he hadn't seen her blush. She certainly hoped so. She sat down at the table, grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and took a bite. She turned on her computer, and checked her email. Nothing new or exciting. When the coffee was finally ready, she poured herself her daily caffeine fix. She managed to relax a little as she sipped the bitter drink.

  
The last day had been exhausting, and it was no wonder she felt a bit off. Her neck was stiff after sleeping in a very uncomfortable position. She tried her best to stretch and massage her neck, but it didn't do much good. Instead, she started preparing a chicken salad for lunch. She had no idea if Orm would eat any of the food, but she could at least try. She concluded he had probably eaten the salmon raw, and whole, since she found nothing left of the fish in the trash or any hints that he had used her kitchen gadgets to prepare it. She found it kind of gross, but who was she to judge. Maybe it was normal where he came from?

  
As she cut the vegetables she started singing quietly to herself, as she often did. When she was done and turned around to put the bowl on the table, she saw Orm leaning against the doorframe quietly observing her. He was dressed in the bathrobe she had given him and his hair was neatly combed back in a similar way to how it had been the first time she saw him on the beach two months ago. She wondered how long he had been watching her, and she felt the color rising on her cheeks again.

  
"Hi. Um. I made some salad for lunch. I don't know if you can eat this kind of food, but at least, maybe you can have some water." She pointed towards the table that was set for two.

  
"Thank you Sarah. You have been nothing but kind to me, and I will try your food." Orm said and sat down. There it was again, the same kind of deliberate attempt to make his voice sound softer. He had used the same way of speaking last night, when he tried to convince her to give him his trident. It was a bit unnerving, and she could not decipher if he only tried to please her or if his words were sincere. His eyes told her nothing as she reached and to put a serving of salad on his plate.

  
At least Orm seemed to know how to use a knife and fork. As he tasted each of the greens on his plate, he ate elegantly, like as if he had a meal at a five star restaurant. The green vegetables he seemed to tolerate, but as he tasted the tomato he tried his best to hide the disgusted expression on his face.

  
"I take it you don't like tomatoes?"

  
"The taste is very strong and unpleasant, to be honest." He said, but seemed to relax a bit as he noticed that Sarah didn't seem to take offense to his behavior. Why would she? It was obvious he had never eaten food like this before.

  
Next he tried a piece of chicken, and it seemed to work better for him. In fact, he ate another piece straight away.

  
"What kind of bird is this?" He asked.

  
"A chicken." She answered.

  
"I see. Where I come from, we sometimes, on rare occasions, eat birds. I prefer Albatross though, and we rarely spoil the meat by cooking it." For the first time he flashed his white teeth in a smile. Either this was an attempt at humor, or a backhanded compliment about her cooking. Sarah was not really sure, but she still returned the smile.

* * *

As they ate the conversation started running somewhat smoothly, and before Sarah knew it, the bowl of salad was empty. The only food left was a pile of tomato on Orm's plate. Still, he had told her almost nothing about himself, besides the obvious, that he was from Atlantis. She didn't want to pressure him in any way though.

  
"Hey. I guess you want to get some rest. I'll go over to my Dad's house in the meantime and get some clothes for you. Is that ok?"

  
Orm nodded and returned to the guest room as Sarah cleaned up in the kitchen. After that, she took the dogs out for a short walk before driving towards her father's summerhouse with an empty bag in the back seat.

  
It was no coincidence that she had bought the house she lived in. She had spent many summers in the same area, and she felt right at home here. It didn't take her more than fifteen minutes to reach her father's house up on the hill. The modern villa was not as close to the sea as her own house, but the view from the terrace was stunning. Her father rarely spent time here anymore though, since his work as a successful architect gave him very little free time.

  
The pool she and her sister used to swim in when they were children was empty and the house looked like a sleeping beast of glass, steel and wood. Inside it was eerily quiet, and the minimalist decor in black and white was covered in a thin layer of dust. She hadn't been here since Christmas, and neither had her father.

  
Sarah grabbed two bottles of wine from the wine cabinet and placed them in the bag, before she entered her father's bedroom. She opened a closet and found jeans and T-shirts neatly folded on the shelves. Nothing was randomly placed and everything was sorted by color. Sarah picked out a few items that she thought could work for Orm before she continued to the next closet where she found shirts and jackets.

  
When she returned to her house with her bag full of clothes Orm was fast asleep in the guest room. After feeding the dogs Sarah sat down with a cup of tea in front of the computer and randomly surfed the net for a few hours. Nothing new about Atlantis today, it seemed. She yawned and contemplated if she should work on her paintings or go for a run, but she decided she was too tired for both.

  
Instead, she grabbed the bag with the clothes and knocked on the guest room door. Orm opened dressed in his bathrobe. She wondered if he had been awake for long.

  
"I have some clothes for you. Take a look and see if they fit." She handed over the bag and let him change in his own time.

  
It didn't take long before he walked into the kitchen dressed in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. Everything seemed a bit too tight, but at least he had something to wear, although he seemed a bit out of place in his new attire. Sarah nodded with approval.

  
"Thank you for the clothes." He said.

  
"You're welcome. I was wondering if you wanted to take a tour of the house before we go to bed?"

  
"If you wish." He answered, and followed Sarah. He had seen most of the first floor already, but she still showed him the living room, even if it wasn't exactly a room she used yet. It was mostly full of boxes with her stuff.

  
"I haven't lived here for very long, and I'm a bit slow when it comes to unpacking my stuff. There are mostly books in the boxes. " Sarah excused herself.

  
Orm nodded and followed Sarah upstairs. The old wooden staircase creaked under their feet, and the two dogs followed closely behind them. Buffy and Spike didn't seem to mind their new house guest, but Orm mostly ignored the animals. She guessed he was not used to dogs, but he didn't seem to fear them either.

  
"This is where I sleep." Sarah opened the door to her bedroom. Luckily she had cleaned it the day before, and since she hadn't slept in her bed the night before everything looked neat.

  
"Then we have two empty rooms. I'm not really sure what to do with them yet. And this is my studio, where I paint." She opened up the door and turned the light on in her art room. The smell of oil paint was heavy in the air and for the first time Orm seemed curious as he looked around.

  
"Do you like art?" She asked.

  
"Yes, I do. Being an artist is very highly regarded in Atlantis. I enjoyed making sculptures when I was younger." Orm walked around and stopped in front of one of Sarah's latest works, an abstract landscape, inspired by the ocean and the sky. "Impressive." He said, almost to himself as his eyes rested on the painting.

  
"Thank you. I take it you're not a sculptor anymore then?"

  
"No." He said. "When I got older there was no time for art in my life. Being a warrior in Atlantis is a full time job."

  
Sarah nodded. It didn't come as a surprise that he was a warrior. It was quite obvious from the first time she saw him on the beach.

  
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but what really happened to you? How did you end up wounded on the beach?"

  
Orm sighed and his eyes focused on another painting.

  
"I was escorting a prison transport when we were attacked by a large horde of dangerous creatures. They killed everyone but me, I suspect. I managed to escape to the surface where they could not follow me. They are patient creatures though, and they will be waiting in the deep for me to return. When they get a taste of your blood, they rarely let you go. They might wait for days. That is why I cannot return to the ocean for a while."

  
Sarah nodded, and had no idea what to say.

 


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments, kudos and bookmarks. =)

Sarah liked to sleep late, Orm concluded as he was submerged under a few inches of cold water in Sarah's bathtub. Sleeping almost until noon was not something a king of Atlantis could ever indulge in. But, then again, he was no longer a king, and to be honest, he was not entirely sure how much he missed his old life. Mostly, the thought of his newly gained freedom confused him. He created a few bubbles by breathing under water. He had given much of his life, all of his life in fact, to being the best king he could possibly be, and all of it had been in vain. Everything he did, even though some of it was arguably dubious, had been for the good of Atlantis. He wanted to protect his kingdom, and perhaps some small part of him wanted to cater to his ego as well. He wanted to be known as a great leader, and in a way he wanted to be loved too.

  
He sat up in the bathtub, and some of the water splashed on the floor. He'd had enough of the stale liquid for today. How he longed to get back to the ocean, but this was only the third day of his recovery. Going back now would be utter stupidity even if there weren't any blood thirsty creatures waiting for him in the deep anymore. For all he knew there were probably Atlanteans investigating what had happened to the prison transport, and if he entered the water they would possibly find him. Perhaps he should let himself be found? He sighed and wrapped a big white towel around his hips.

  
As he combed his hair, watching his image in the mirror, he memorized the coordinates of the secret base his followers had given him. Did he really want to start a rebellion? His thoughts drifted to his mother. Was she aware of what had happened? Did she think he was dead? Thinking of her made the lump in his throat grow bigger. He forced himself to stop thinking of his mother, and put the comb back on the bathroom shelf, where it belonged.

  
Orm looked down at his body, and was pleased to see that he had continued to heal well. Tomorrow the angry red scars would most probably be gone, and soon there would be no real reason for him to stay in this house. Unless he wanted to. As he had concluded the day he arrived, this was a good place to hide out. The house was close to the ocean, and reasonably close to the secret base. It seemed to be far from the neighbors prying eyes and he was safe on land for the time being. The woman had fed him, and clothed him so far, but how long would she let him stay, unless he gave her a reason to?

  
He walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway. His trident rested against the wall next to the door. He had toyed with the idea of killing her a few times. He could do it fast, and painless, she wouldn't need to suffer. But, then again, he was no monster. The people he had killed before, he had killed to secure the future of Atlantis, not for personal gain. The woman had been nothing but kind and generous to him, and despite her being an inferior being, she deserved better. Killing her would also not guarantee that he could stay here undetected, in fact, it would probably have the opposite effect. If someone suspected something had happened to Sarah, and he stayed here in this house.. That would be beyond stupid.

  
He left his trident where it was and walked over to the kitchen. The time was 10.30 according to the clock on the wall. The dogs were also still asleep, curled up next to each other in their bed on the floor. It seemed to be another warm day, and outside, the sky was clear blue without a single cloud as far as the eye could see. He disliked both the temperature and the harsh sunlight. It hurt his eyes and gave him a slight headache. He preferred late evenings and early mornings here on the surface.

  
He opened the door to the backyard to get the dog's attention, and as predicted they woke up, yawned and stretched their short legs before walking out into the sunny garden. The past two days he had learned to tolerate the creatures. They were quite harmless and friendly. Despite the excessive amount of hair they were shedding everyday, he could understand why the surface dwellers kept them as pets.

  
Yesterday Sarah had been away most of the day running errands and shopping in a nearby town. She had left him in charge of the animals, and when he was not resting or soaking in the bathtub he had walked slowly around the garden, trying to regain some strength. In the afternoon an old man with a long gray beard, dressed in green had walked by with another dog on a lead. Before Orm had the chance to hide, the man had spotted him in the garden and walked over.

  
"Is Sarah at home?" The man asked as he looked at Orm suspiciously, up and down.

  
"No, she is in town..Shopping." Orm answered. He had no idea who the old man was. He sincerely hoped he was not Sarah's father.

  
"She didn't tell me she had a house guest." There it was again, that suspicious stare. Something about the man's gaunt face made Orm think of Vulko, and the thought of the traitor made him grit his teeth. "Well then. Could you please remind Sarah that we agreed to clean the beach again the day after tomorrow. You could join too. There is more than enough shit to clean up after what those damn Atlanteans did."

  
The nerve of this ignorant surface dweller! Here he was, complaining about trash being washed up on their damn beaches. Trash, rubble and disgusting plastic that they had dumped in the ocean themselves in the first place. Orm pressed his lips together tightly and used sheer willpower not to punch the old man in the face.

  
"I will inform Sarah about what you said." Orm answered and tried his best to sound calm and indifferent.

  
Without another word the man had walked away. Thinking about the incident Orm filled a glass with water and leaned against the kitchen counter as he drank the cool liquid. Sarah had told him that the man was her neighbor, and that he went by the name of Angus Smith. It was probably impossible to stay here completely undetected, and he needed to win the old man over, as it seemed he and Sarah were on friendly terms. Still, he didn't see it as a big problem. He could be both friendly and charming if he wanted to. The old man would come around eventually.

  
The bigger problem was Sarah. He thought he might have a solution though. Slowly, but surely a plan had started to form in his head the past day. It wasn't the most pleasant of plans, but sometimes one had to give up a bit of their dignity to gain a greater reward. And, come to think about it, his situation could have been much worse. He just needed to test his theory once more before proceeding any further. He leaned back against the counter and waited.

  
It didn't take long before he heard Sarah's footsteps walking down the stairs. His lips curled in a smirk as he moved away from the kitchen counter towards the door. Sarah entered the kitchen looking down at her phone as she often did. He took a few silent steps towards her, so that he deliberately bumped into her. Sarah yelped, dropped her phone, lost her balance and Orm caught her in his arms. The feeling of her small, warm body and soft hair against his chest was not wholly unpleasant.

  
"Oh, god. I'm so sorry." She whispered and looked up at him. A red tint started to spread over her face, almost erasing the freckles on her nose and cheeks.

  
"Watch your step, Sarah. You could have hurt yourself." He said with a smile, still holding her against his body.

  
"Yeah. Um, I guess walking and texting is not a good idea.."

  
He let go of her and took a step back. She smelled of sweet flowers, like the pink once in the garden, and she had painted her eyelashes black and her lips in a light red color. She was wearing a loose white top, and her hard nipples were straining against the thin fabric. Her eyes were fixed on his naked chest a bit too long, before she swallowed and turned her gaze down at her shoes.

  
"I let the dogs out in the garden." He said trying his best to keep himself from smiling wickedly.

  
"It was nice of you. Thanks" She said and watched her shoes a bit longer before looking up at him, her face still a bit red. "I'll make some sushi for lunch. I think you might like it. It's mostly made from stuff from the sea."

  
He nodded.

  
"I will get myself properly dressed then." He said and walked out of the kitchen.

  
As he closed the guest room door behind him, and discarded the towel he had wrapped around his hips he smirked to himself. He had seen the way she looked at him with lust in her eyes almost from the beginning, and his little stunt back in the kitchen proved that his theory was correct. She was definitely attracted to him, or at least found him to be physically appealing. She was easy to read, like an open book.

  
Now she simply needed a little push to act out her desires for him. She seemed a bit shy and insecure, which surprised him slightly. She was by no means an unappealing woman. While the thought of seducing a surface dweller was not very tempting, he could have been in a much worse situation. He could easily have ended up being found by an ugly old hag, after all.

  
Perhaps he didn't even have to go as far as to sleep with her. Maybe getting her enamored with him would be enough to let him stay in her house as long as he wanted. If that wasn't the case, he was pretty sure he could perform adequately in a sexual situation, even if she was a lowly surface dweller. He wasn't an inexperienced man after all. As the king of Atlantis there were always women willing to spread their legs for him whenever he pleased, and as long as he conducted his escapades discretely, he saw no reason to deny himself some physical pleasure. After all, he was soon to be stuck in an arranged marriage with a woman that did not desire him.

  
He sighed. At least being dethroned by Arthur had helped him escape the marriage. Even if the way Mera had betrayed him stung, he was sure that they both were quite satisfied not having to marry each other. What he was planning to do was beneath him, yes, but sometimes desperate times called for desperate measures.

  
He dressed himself in a pair of those blue trousers that Sarah had brought him, and a black shirt. The clothes were not what he was used to wearing at home, and the fabric was hard and uncomfortable, but it had to do. His hair had begun to dry, and he did not like the feeling. It felt odd and unfamiliar. Before walking back to the kitchen he stopped by the bathroom to wet his hair and comb it once again. When he was satisfied with the result, he returned to the kitchen where Sarah was preparing their meal with a glass of wine next to her on the kitchen counter.


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking a long time updating, but my life is quite busy at the moment. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sometime next week.  
> This chapter, and the whole story from now on is rated E. Don't say I didn't warn you...  
> Thanks again for the comments, kudos and bookmarks. Comments are welcome, so if you like what you read, please write a line or two. It makes my day!

His lips were soft and hungry as he pressed her back against the kitchen counter. She greedily accepted his tongue as it demanded entrance and her hand went up to caress his wet hair. She pressed herself closer to his warm body, and she could feel the familiar throbbing heat building between her legs.

Her other hand went down to his belly, touching his hard, sculpted abs. She had wanted to do this for so long, and as her hand went further down to the edge of the towel that was wrapped around his hips, he moaned into her mouth. Suddenly one of his hands let go of her waist and went up to grab her top. She yelped and let go of his lips as he ripped her top exposing her breasts to him. He smiled, and his hungry blue eyes locked with hers as his hand started playing with her right nipple, turning it into a hardened peak.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Sarah?" He whispered, his lips close to hers. His voice was darker, and more sensual than usual, and it sent a shiver down her spine.

"Yes, I want it. I want you.."

He smirked as his hand moved to her left breast. She closed her eyes and moaned helplessly as his lips found the sensitive skin on her neck. Pressing her smaller body against his, she could feel the outline of his hard cock against her belly. Suddenly she felt one of his hands under her skirt, playing with the soft skin of her inner thigh. She spread her legs eagerly to give him better access, but he only chuckled and took his time teasing his way upwards.

"Please.."

"Please what? You need to tell me what you want Sarah..."

"Please.. I need you to touch me.."

"Like this?" He looked her straight in the eyes as two of his fingers reached inside her panties and started stroking her folds teasingly. She whimpered and closed her eyes.

"Yes. Oh fuck.." She moaned as two of his fingers sank into her wet opening, and his thumb started rubbing her swollen clit.

Sarah woke up panting and tangled in her sheets. Shit, that was the most intense sex dream she'd had in a long time, and of course it was about Orm. She really hoped she hadn't moaned loudly in her sleep. It was awkward enough to be around him after the incident in the kitchen yesterday. She could still almost feel his hard body pressed against hers when she closed her eyes. She had liked the feeling, and he had held her a bit longer than necessary.She sighed. She was a bit too attracted to him, and she had a sneaking suspicion he knew about it. She shook her head.

Here she was; pathetic, horny and covered in sweat. She was starting to fall for a man that was technically not even human and she barely knew at all. Obviously she was exactly as naive and foolish as her dad claimed her to be. She was just as clueless as ever around men she felt really attracted to, and she had no idea how to stop acting like an idiot. She needed to get this madness out of her system, fast.

She untangled herself from her sheets and got out of bed. She changed into her running gear and checked the time her phone. Not even Orm with his habit of waking up early would be up. Or, at least she hoped so. She closed the door behind her and walked down the stairs as quietly as she could. In the garden it was still dark, but the sunrise was not far away, and luckily she had her headlight in her pocket. She started running at a faster pace than usual, and tried to ignore how tired she was.

Damn, she didn't understand Orm, and not herself either. Sometimes it almost felt like he was checking her out, or even flirting with her, but the next minute he acted totally aloof and very formal around her. If she had been a more confident woman she might have made a move on him, but she wasn't. She had always been slightly socially awkward, and never had many friends. It was easier for her to hide behind her paintings, to let her talent speak for her. The guys she had dated before were usually men that she had randomly met through her work as an artist. They were all men that were usually convenient and nice, but often she wasn't really that attracted to them either. They weren't men that made her nervous or incredibly sexually frustrated, like Orm.

After running for twenty minutes she felt slightly dizzy as she stopped high up on a cliff. She saw her house in the distance. It looked just as small and insignificant as she felt at the moment. The sun was rising in the east, turning the sky into a painting with bright colors of red, orange and yellow. As her breathing slowed her thoughts went back to Orm. Perhaps she was so attracted to him because he was a bit like the men in all those romance novels and fan fics that she regularly consumed? He was mysterious, from a world very different to her own and slightly dangerous. Maybe she just wanted to be swept away into a scandalous romance with a man that was something out of the ordinary?

She shook her head. God, she was childish. In real life there were no handsome princes on white horses that saved lonely artists from a slightly boring existence. She started running back to her house, at a slower pace this time. Her therapist had told her many times that if a person had a traumatic experience in childhood or early adulthood, he or she could stay at that particular emotional level for the rest of their lives. In her case it was pretty obvious that she, at times, still was on the level of her sixteen year old self, and she had no idea how to move on.

When she arrived back at her house, she felt a tiny bit more relaxed and once she opened the door, she was met by the scent of freshly brewed coffee. Orm was standing in the kitchen with a mug in his hand. Thankfully, he was fully dressed this time. Sarah swallowed. She probably looked like a mess, all sweaty and out of breath.

"Good morning Sarah. I made some coffee for you." He said and handed over the mug to her.

"Thanks. I didn't know you knew how the coffee maker worked."

"I've observed you. It's not that hard, and I'm a fast learner." He said and flashed a smile at Sarah that made her weak in the knees.

She simply nodded and took a sip of her coffee. It was a very, very strong and bitter, but at least she gave him an A+ for effort.

"You are up early." He remarked.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep. I Went for a run instead." She answered and concentrated on drinking her coffee.

Orm nodded.

"I'll go and have a shower now. Then we'll have breakfast." Sarah said, mostly because she wanted to get away from Orm a bit.

After the dream she had about him it felt more than awkward to be around him, and she needed some time to breath. Not that there was much hope that a bit of water could give her her dignity back, but she could at least try. She swallowed the last of her coffee. Simply catching a glimpse of Orm's large hands holding his coffee mug was enough to give her flashbacks from the dream, flashbacks that caused a jolt of electricity to surge down her spine.

After showering Sarah took some extra time to dry her hair and apply some make up. She had to confess that she wanted to look nice, mostly so that she wouldn't feel as clueless and insecure. Feeling pretty was like a protective layer against the harsh reality around her. She sighed as she filled in her eyebrows. If she was completely honest, she knew that she also wanted to look pretty for Orm. It was slightly silly, but it was the truth.

She dressed herself in a pair of old denim shorts and a black top. It was another hot day, and in a few hours she would be cleaning on the beach with Mr. Smith. In a way it would be a welcome distraction, even if she didn't particularly look forward to the stench and the hard work. Yes, it would do her good to get out of the house for a few hours. Sarah picked up her phone and went back to the kitchen where she found Orm reading the newspaper with his coffee mug next to him. His facial expression was stern, almost angry as he let go of the paper. As he dropped it on the table a smiling bearded man with long hair was staring back at Sarah from the pages. The man in the picture was Arthur Curry, Aquaman.

"The new king of Atlantis." She read the headline aloud not really knowing why, and if the expression on Orm's face told her anything it was that he did not approve. "

"Yes, indeed. The new king. But how long will someone like him last on the throne? He has lived most of his life on the surface and knows almost nothing about our society and our culture." The smirk on Orm's lips was borderline evil and Sarah took a step back before he seemed to make an effort to calm down.

"You're not a fan of Aquaman, I take it?" She said tentatively.

"He will not last long on the throne, as I said. At least our former king knew what was best for Atlantis."

"Like killing thousands of people with tidal waves of trash? I do understand why you Atlanteans wanted to get rid of the pollution, but maybe it could have been done in some other way? Like negotiating with the leaders of the surface world, just as Aquaman seems to be doing at the moment." Sarah was a bit surprised she was this bold with a living, breathing Atlantean sitting across the table, but she was entitled to her opinion, just as he was. Surprisingly enough Orm didn't look angry, simply perhaps a bit annoyed as he nodded.

"Perhaps some of our former king's actions were less than ideal in hindsight, but when it happened I did fully support the decision. And as I said, I do have my doubts about Aquaman being a good leader of Atlantis. I guess only time will tell how this will end." Orm said and folded the newspaper.

Sarah sighed, perhaps discussing Atlantean politics was not her business. She didn't know anything about Orm's home after all, and in a way she could understand why the former king did what he did, however fucked up it was.

"Well, I guess, we'll leave it at that then. Will eggs and toast work for breakfast? The fridge is sort of empty at the moment."

"Yes, eggs and toast will do nicely. Thank you Sarah." Orm said and pushed the newspaper further away from him. "I will probably be well enough to leave in a couple of days." He added.

Sarah nodded. She was not sure if she would be relieved or sad when he left. What Orm was thinking about the whole thing was hard to decipher. His facial expression didn't give her a hint of what was going on inside his head. At least she wouldn't have to feel embarrassed anymore because she was a bit too attracted to him. Perhaps people like them didn't belong together at all?

As she placed slices of bread in the toaster she thought about what he had told her before. He was an Atlantean warrior. Things could have turned out very differently if the Atlanteans had attacked the surface. Orm might just as well have been the one who ended her life with that trident that she walked by in the hallway multiple times every day. The thought was one she had avoided for far too long, and it made her uncomfortable to no end. She swallowed and cracked an egg against the frying pan. Well, now things were different, and replaying what if scenarios in her head was utterly pointless.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading, commenting and giving kudos. Hope you enjoy this new chapter!

Orm watched as Sarah walked into the living room, her fingers moving over the touch screen on her phone. Obviously she had learned nothing from the incident in the kitchen yesterday, or perhaps she wanted to bump into him again? He smirked to himself and put down the book he was reading on his lap.

  
Sarah had a frown on her face as she typed something and seconds later her phone beeped. Sarah sighed and looked up at Orm who was sitting in an armchair next to the window.

  
"Looks like I won't be cleaning on the beach today." Sarah said, and shook her head. "Mr Smith is ill, or possibly hungover. You never really know with him."

  
Orm nodded.

  
"Anyway, I wanted to ask if you want to go with me to town for some grocery shopping instead. If you feel well enough, that is? I figured it would be nice with a change of scenery for you."

  
"I'll accompany you if you wish me to do so, Sarah." He said with a smile that made Sarah look down at her shoes.. "Are we leaving right now?"

  
"No, not yet. I was thinking I'd work on some of my paintings for a while first. If that's ok with you?"

  
"Yes, of course." He said and picked up the book again.

  
"You found something to read?" She asked and looked down at the book he was holding.

  
"Yes." He lifted the book to show Sarah the cover.

  
"2001: A Space Odyssey. I really like that book. Good choice." Sarah said.

  
"Have to agree with you Sarah. It is very well written, although the author seemed to be a bit too optimistic about the evolution of surface dweller technology when he wrote the book."

  
Sarah nodded.

  
"You're right about that. Still a very good read though. Has the Atlanteans been to space?"

  
"No. But we certainly could go if we wanted to. We had a space program in the works about three hundred years ago, but then the threat from the surface grew, and we had to focus our resources on that instead."

  
Sarah nodded, seemingly not knowing how to answer him.

  
"Well, anyway. You enjoy your book, and I'll go upstairs and paint for a while."

  
As Sarah walked away Orm couldn't avoid looking at her toned legs and how her ass moved against the fabric of her short shorts. She took good care of her body, and he liked it. Seeing her sweaty and obviously confused and aroused after her run this morning had quite an unexpected effect on him physically. He swallowed and closed his eyes. Damn, those long legs would look gorgeous wrapped around his waist when he fucked her..

  
He shook his head, closed the book and put it back on the book shelf. These kinds of thoughts had popped up in his head a bit more frequently than he liked to admit to himself. Perhaps he was a bit pleased that Sarah was so obviously attracted to him? It was not exactly like he lacked female attention before, but this was different in many ways. Sarah was a simple surface dweller, an inferior being and nothing more than a tool for him. He planned to seduce her to forward his own goals, but as time went on he caught himself being a bit too excited by the thought of sleeping with her.

  
He got up from the chair. Perhaps a good soak in cold water would clear his mind? He only intended to sleep with her to make her fall in love with him, and give him a permanent place to stay. Nothing more, nothing less. But then again, Sarah was an attractive woman, and he had needs that had to be fulfilled, just like any other man. Would it be so very wrong if he enjoyed himself a little in the process?

  
As Orm waited for the bathtub to fill up with cold water, he discarded his clothes on the floor. No, it wouldn't be wrong to enjoy having sex with Sarah, but somehow she made him feel very odd when she looked at him with so much lust in her eyes. She was nothing like the women he slept with in Atlantis. No matter if they were noble women or simple maids in the palace, they all looked at him the same way. He was the king, and letting the king have his way with them was an honor, and a possible way to elevate their status. They all liked the idea of fucking The King, but did they really like the man behind the crown?

  
He sighed with pleasure as he lowered himself into the bathtub, and the water surrounded him. Sarah had no idea who he was. She thought he was just a common Atlantean soldier, but yet she was lusting after him all the same. It made him feel...flattered, perhaps. Breathing under water didn't have the desired calming effect on him. His body was still tense and his thoughts all over the place.

  
Over the last two days he had also come to realize that he barely had an idea about how to actually flirt with women. He guessed from Sarah's reaction that he was doing a decent job, but as a king, he never had to make an effort winning women over. And Sarah was also a surface dweller. Perhaps they had very different courting rituals? This was an area of surface dweller culture he had never studied, since he didn't think he would have any use for that kind of knowledge.

  
Orm stayed in the bathtub for well over an hour before changing clothes and combing his hair. He drank some water in the kitchen and let the dogs out in the garden before walking upstairs to see if Sarah was still working. He found her deeply immerged in her work, alternating between painting and mixing colors on a palette. She was working on two similar paintings at the same time it seemed, adding paint to them both, but mainly concentrating on the larger one next the window.

  
He leaned against the doorframe and watched her work for a while. Sarah was concentrating so hard that she had no idea he was watching her. He couldn't help but to find her dedication to her work, and her obvious talent quite admirable. The way she sometimes used her fingers instead of the brushes was also utterly fascinating to him. The way her fingertips spread the sticky paint over the canvas was almost erotic to him. When she suddenly bent down to pick up a brush she had dropped on the floor one of her shoulder straps slid down her arm, and he got an eyeful of one of one of Sarah's breasts. Lovely and round with a perky, pink nipple. How delicious. He had to resist the urge to lick his lips. Instead, he smirked, and that was when Sarah turned around, looking slightly startled to find him standing there.

  
"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you were here." She blushed and pushed her shoulder strap back in place, at the same time smearing some blue paint on her shoulder.

  
"I didn't want to interrupt your work."

  
Sarah nodded, and he took a few steps closer to her. He lifted his hand and wiped the paint from her shoulder. She unconsciously leaned closer to him with a small sigh.

  
"You had some paint on your shoulder, Sarah. It's gone now" He said and stepped away from her, wiping the paint from his fingers on a cloth next to the easel.

  
"Thank you." she said.

  
Orm answered her with a smile and looked around the room. His eyes fell on a series of paintings in a corner. They were all of the same person, a young woman with curly red hair, and he had wondered who she was since the first time Sarah showed him her painting studio.

  
"Who is she?" He asked and Sarah took a few steps closer to him.

  
"She was my sister."

  
He nodded. Now he could clearly see the resemblance. Even if her red hair was very different to Sarah's dark locks they both had the same blue eyes, nose and freckles.

  
"Was?"

  
"Yes, she is dead. She died when she was fifteen, she was a year younger than me." Sarah looked down at her feet, and Orm didn't want to ask more questions at the moment. It was pretty clear this was something Sarah was not comfortable talking about.

  
"I'm sorry." He said, and immediately felt ashamed. It was probably a bizarre statement coming from a man who only a few weeks ago had tried to deliberately kill his own brother. He sighed. Luckily, Sarah didn't know what kind of person he really was or what he had done.

  
"I'll need to change clothes before we drive to town. I probably smell like oil paint.." Sarah said with a faint smile.

  
Orm nodded and Sarah walked towards her bedroom. Orm went downstairs and let the dogs inside before he had a cup of coffee. For some reason he had really learned to like the bitter beverage. It was quite addictive really. A few minutes later, Sarah showed up in the kitchen dressed in a short blue dress that showed off all her best assets. He had to confess that she looked very pretty.

  
"That dress really suits you." He said matter of factly, and hoped it was a well executed compliment. As a king, he was not really used to giving people compliments, he was mostly on the receiving end of such flattery.

  
"Thank you." Sarah rewarded him with a genuine smile. Apparently his rather lame attempt at a compliment had the desired effect.

  
"You're welcome." He said and put down the mug on the kitchen counter.

  
On their way to town Orm's mind was racing. Perhaps it was truly foolish to show his face in public like this? But on the other hand, the last two days in the house had nearly made him go crazy. He was not used to the quiet lifestyle that was apparently Sarah's everyday life. And, truth to be told, he was a bit curious as well. He had never actually seen a surface dweller town with his own eyes. He supposed this was one of the few chances he'd ever get to experience something like this.

  
Just as he had expected the town they visited was anything but impressive. It was very small, and most of the buildings looked like very unappealing square boxes. The only thing that slightly appealed to him was what Sarah called the church, a surface dweller temple. It looked older and probably built with some kind of aesthetic qualities in mind.

  
The supermarket where Sarah was apparently going to do her shopping was no less disgusting than the rest of the town, probably worse, in fact. It was crowded and most of the food items that Sarah put in her cart were packed in plastic. Hardly surprising. Orm gritted his teeth, as he tried to choose a fish that looked to be in a descent condition. By surface dweller standards, that meant pretty close to being spoiled.

  
There were of course places like this in Atlantis too. Shops and markets where the commoners went to buy their food and other items. As a royal, Orm never had to do his shopping himself. Everything he ever consumed was delivered directly to the palace and prepared by the best chefs in Atlantis. Shopping for food was very much beneath him, or, it used to be at least. Truth to be told he barely had any idea what he was anymore.

  
The surface dwellers didn't seem to have much control over their offspring either. He was not used to children, and especially not children that apparently had no idea what the word discipline meant. One little boy simply laughed as he almost crashed into Orm's legs with his mini shopping cart. His mother tried to apologize as the boy continued running around completely out of control. No child in Atlantis would ever behave this badly. It would have dire consequences to say the least. Another child had a temper tantrum when she apparently didn't get a toy she wanted. Completely unacceptable!

  
"I got some king crab for us tonight. Is that ok?" Sarah smiled as she placed a big package in the shopping cart.

  
"Yes. Are we done here now?"

  
"Pretty much, yes. We only need some wine, and maybe some rum."

  
Orm nodded and followed closely in Sarah's footsteps as she navigated through the crowds to the wine shelves. She filled up the last empty space in the shopping cart with quite a few bottles.

  
"Are we going to drink all of that tonight?" Orm asked. He knew that Arthur seemed to have a never ending thirst for this apparently legal surface dweller drug, but he himself had avoided all kinds of intoxicating substances for years. Being intoxicated was not appropriate behavior for a king. But he wasn't a king anymore, and tonight he might as well at least taste some of the strange beverages that Sarah seemed so eager to buy.

  
"No. Of course not. We will save the rest for later." She laughed and Orm nodded as Sarah placed a bottle containing bright blue liquid in the cart.

  
"Sarah! It has been ages! How are you?" He suddenly heard a high pitched voice behind him. A tall woman dressed in tight clothes and decorated with an ungodly amount of cheap jewelry grabbed Sarah and gave her a big hug.

  
"Hi Stella. I'm fine. How are you?"

  
"Just fine. I'm here all summer. Borrowing mom and dad's house. You know, trying to work on my latest book, but mostly just chilling. And, I've met this amazing guy. His name is Jean-Pierre. He is French, super hot and like mega rich.."

  
Orm couldn't help himself and rolled his eyes. How on Earth did Sarah know this vulgar woman? She was ghastly looking as well, in a way that was oddly fascinating. Her face was covered in a mask of thick make up, her face and body had an almost orange color and her lips looked oddly inflated and grossly deformed.

  
"Nice.I live here now. Bought a house a few months ago." Sarah answered and Stella turned to Orm, looking at him up and down with a smirk on her lips.

  
"And who might this be?"

  
"This is Orm. A friend of mine." Sarah answered.

  
"Well, nice to meet you Orm. I'm Stella." The woman reached out her hand, and Orm reluctantly took it. Her nails looked like pink claws and were decorated with odd pieces of plastic and fake gemstones. Hideous!

  
"Nice to meet you too. Stella." He said with a fake smile and let go of her hand as fast as he could. After that, he backed a few steps and started reading the labels on the alcohol bottles.

  
"Damn girl. He's hot. I mean, look at that ass.. You're banging him, right?" Stella "whispered" in Sarah's ear, loud enough for Orm, and probably half of the supermarket to hear. He had never heard the expression "banging" before, but he had a pretty good idea what the woman was implying. He smiled evilly to himself and figured Stella would look her best impaled on his trident.

  
"Well.." Sarah tried to say, and Orm could see that her face was turning bright red.

  
"Anyway." Stella interrupted Sarah. "Me and Jean-Pierre are hosting a pool party at the house tomorrow. Why don't you come over?"

  
"We kind of have other plans.."

  
"Pleeeease.. I haven't had time to hang out with my favorite cousin in ages." Stella whined.

  
"Ok. We'll think about it. But I can't promise anything. We are kind of in a hurry right now, but I'll text you tomorrow."

  
"Good! I'm in a hurry too, actually Jean-Pierre is waiting for me in the car. It's a Ferrari, by the way.."

  
Stella kissed Sarah loudly on both cheeks, and then thankfully disappeared in the crowd. Orm sighed.

  
"Sorry. That's my cousin.. She's just like that, but she doesn't mean any harm."

  
"I see.." Orm said with a smirk and Sarah blushed again.

  
"It's late, and I'm getting hungry. We should go home. I was thinking, since it's Friday, we could eat out in the garden, and watch the sunset. It's quite nice. Ok?"

  
"That sounds good." Orm answered, and sincerely hoped Sara had no plans of attending that party Stella was hosting tomorrow. The idea that Sarah had about eating outside in the sunset was a good one though. Sunsets were one of the few things he really enjoyed when it came to the surface. Perhaps it was also a great opportunity for him to make a move on Sarah. Time was running out. If he hadn't managed to seduce her and gave her a good reason to let him stay, he would have to return to the ocean very soon.


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are happening.. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sarah was quietly singing to herself, as she often did as she prepared the evening meal in the kitchen. Buffy and Spike were both sitting next to her feet, longingly eyeing the chopping board as Sarah was cutting cheese into tiny cubes.

  
"It's not for you. You already had your dinner, remember?" The dogs wagged their tails, and kept on staring at the kitchen counter. Sarah smiled and shook her head.

  
Outside in the garden Orm was trying his best to set the table, as she had asked him to, but he seemed to have some problems with placing the cutlery right. It was odd really. He seemed to know much more than her about proper dinner etiquette, but simple things like this sometimes confused him.

  
Quite often he acted like he had no concept of the fact that simple tasks in the house had to be taken care of. He was by no means stupid, on the contrary, he seemed to figure certain things out alarmingly fast. It was more like he was spoiled, perhaps. Despite living under water Sarah figured that daily life in Atlantis couldn't be that different. They had to eat, sleep and clean up after themselves just like humans on the surface. All of this had led her to believe that Orm probably came from a very wealthy family, where more or less everything was taken care of by servants.

  
He had never mentioned it to her though, and she couldn't help but wonder why. In general, he had kept his lips sealed when it came to much of his private life. What was his family like? Did he have any siblings? Pretty much the only thing he had told her was that he wasn't married. At least that was useful information, or would be if she wasn't utterly clueless around him. She couldn't help but to chuckle silently as she poured the cheese cubes into the salad bowl.

  
She hoped he would open up a bit more after a glass of wine or two and maybe tell her something more about himself. Who could really blame her for being at least a bit curious? Sarah looked out the window and found Orm standing next to the fence staring at the ocean. Did he miss home? Probably. He didn't seem very impressed with most things she had shown him so far. Perhaps Atlantis was truly more amazing than the surface. If she ever had the chance she would love to see it for herself.

  
Sarah placed the food on a tray and carried it out in the garden. Orm still seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, and it took him a few seconds to even register that she was right behind him arranging the food bowls on the table.

  
"Dinner is ready." Sarah said with a smile as she turned around to face him. "Are you feeling homesick?"

  
"To be honest Sarah, yes I am. There is no place like Atlantis, although I do not miss some of the people there."

  
Sarah nodded, and at the same time she couldn't help but to feel a bit sad that he would obviously be leaving her soon. She pressed her lips tightly together and opened up a bottle of chilled white wine. The pop when she pulled the cork from the bottle sounded very loud in the quiet garden.

  
"I was thinking about taking my trident and go back to the ocean tomorrow to see if the creatures are still waiting for me. One would think even their patience would be wearing thin at this point." Orm said and sat down across the table from Sarah.

  
"Isn't that dangerous?"

  
"Potentially yes, but I'm also a highly skilled warrior, and I won't be taking unnecessary risks. I simply want to assess the situation before I return to the sea permanently."

  
Sarah nodded and held the plate with the king crab legs in front of Orm, who grabbed a generous amount of food.

  
"You know, I'm not forcing you out of the house or something..." Sarah said without looking straight at him as she poured some wine in his glass.

  
"I really appreciate everything you have done for me Sarah. And to be honest, my stay here on the surface has been more pleasant than expected, and quite.. enlightening."

  
"Ok. What do you mean by that?"

  
"In Atlantis we study the surface dwellers carefully. While I've always known a lot about the surface world, I've personally never interacted with a true surface dweller. Our perception of your kind is not the best, but you, you have shown me something different.."

  
There it was again, one of his charming smiles that never really seemed to reach his eyes. Damn him. Why was he so attractive and what was he hiding from her? She nodded and took a sip of her wine.

  
"I'm glad I haven't made a terrible impression on you." She said, and wondered if she should tell him that she had seen him long before they ever met, that night on the beach when he was alone, crying like he was totally lost in the world. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea, but at least she knew there was a different side to him, something genuine behind the polished facade. 

  
"Trust me. You have made a very good impression on me." This time his smile actually seemed more genuine. Could he read her mind too? Maybe she shouldn't over think things so damn much. Maybe go with the flow a bit more. Like someone like Stella.

  
Thinking about her over the top cousin suddenly made Sarah giggle uncontrollably. Orm raised an eyebrow.

  
"Sorry. I was just thinking about Stella."

  
"The woman in the supermarket?"

  
"Yes. My cousin. It was nice to see her. Don't get me wrong, we are very different, but she is really funny as well. We used to hang out a lot when we were younger."

  
"Is she ill in some way?"

  
"What?"

  
"Her skin looked orange. Is that some kind of surface dweller illness? And her lips. They were deformed."

  
Sarah almost choked on a piece of crab meat, laughing too hard. She had to calm down by downing the rest of the wine in her glass before she answered his question.

  
"Well." Sarah started. "She is not ill. She just applies a kind of lotion that makes her skin turn darker. It sometimes tends to make you look orange. And about her lips, she is using lip filler. It is a substance that you inject to make your lips larger. It is considered attractive to some people."

  
"I find that very hard to believe." Orm sounded truly confused.

  
"I guess people in Atlantis have different beauty standards."

  
"We apparently do. We consider our body sacred. We take pride in taking care of it and not mutilating it by injecting artificial substances."

  
"I tend to agree with you on that, but we are all different, I guess." Sarah said and poured herself another glass of wine as well as refilling Orm's glass.

  
"I quite like this wine." Orm said, like he wanted to avoid discussing the subject further.

  
"Yeah,It is good." Sarah smiled and could feel herself getting a bit tipsy from drinking her wine a bit too fast.

  
They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the food and the lovely warm sunset. It was not the first time she wished she could go down to the beach and take a swim, but the beach was still littered with trash, and the thought of scary monsters with sharp teeth lurking in the deep was terrifying. Having a pool would be nice right about now. She was pretty sure Orm would agree, considering how much time he spent in her bathtub.

  
They had already finished the first bottle of wine, and the food was almost gone. Time for something sweet for dessert. The chocolate mousse was waiting in the fridge. Perhaps a strawberry margarita would go well with the whole thing?

  
"I'm going to get the dessert now." Sarah said, and Orm nodded.

  
She walked towards the house balancing the empty plates and bowls on the tray. Maybe the Margarita wasn't such a good idea after all, she'd had enough alcohol already, but damn it would taste good. It definitely would..

  
In the kitchen, she started mixing the ingredients in the blender, and she wasn't exactly frugal when it came to the tequila. She poured the drinks into two slightly oversized glasses, decorated with strawberries, but skipped the straws. She guessed Orm wouldn't approve of unnecessary plastic. She carried out the tray with the drinks and the bowls of chocolate mousse, and let the dogs out in the garden at the same time. After consuming this much alcohol she felt too lazy to take them out for a longer walk, and besides, they had plenty of room to roam around in the garden.

  
"Here. This drink is called Strawberry Margarita." She handed over one of the drinks to Orm, and put down the bowl of chocolate mousse in front of him. "This is my favorite dessert of all time, and I'll be a tiny bit disappointed if you don't like.. " She flashed a smile that was very daring for being her as she sat down, and he answered it in kind. She definitely was tipsy now..

  
"Let's see.." Orm dipped his spoon in the dessert, and curiously tasted the mousse. He nodded with approval.

  
"It is good, I have to agree with you."

  
"I told you so.." Sarah said and drank some of her margarita. Damn, it was strong! "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

  
"No. Please do." He said and tasted his drink.

  
"What's your family like? Do you have any siblings?"

  
"My father is dead. He died when I was nineteen. My mother is alive, and I have a brother. An older half brother. We have the same mother but different fathers. We are not on talking terms at the moment."

  
Sarah was slightly surprised that he was as straight forward as he was, but maybe the alcohol had affected him too. She thought she could see a hint of genuine sadness in his eyes.

  
"I feel you. I haven't spoken to my mom for years."

  
Orm nodded and drank some more of his margarita.

  
"May I ask why?"

  
Sarah sighed. Well, she guessed she might as well tell him.

  
"When I was sixteen, and my sister was fifteen we went together to a party. She was really drunk and I was too. We were not supposed to drink at all, and when she started feeling a bit bad, she wanted to go home, but I wanted to stay. A friend of ours offered to take her home, and I let her go. Our friend was also drunk though, and on the way home, he crashed his car into a cliff face. My sister and he died. My mother blamed me for her death. As the older one I should have been responsible for her. Our relationship got progressively worse over the years, and after my parents divorce, she stopped talking to me all together. She lives abroad now, remarried and has another child with her husband."

  
Orm was quiet for a while, then he said:

  
"Perhaps what you did that night was irresponsible, but blaming her death on you seems very harsh. People have done much worse things, and still been forgiven, at least by their mothers." This time he looked straight into her eyes, and for a second she wondered if he spoke from own experience. Suddenly he sighed and looked down at his drink.

  
"Well, the past is the past, and we can't change it no matter how much we'd like to. Cheers to that."

  
She bumped her glass against Orm's who curiously lifted his eyebrow.

  
"Another surface dweller custom?"

  
"Yes. It's a way to celebrate. Lift your glass." She let her glass touch his again.

  
"Cheers." He said tentatively.

  
"Cheers." She answered and they both drank the last of their Margaritas.

  
"The bitter aftertaste of this drink is odd, but slightly pleasant." Orm said.

  
"It's the tequila. The liquor in the drink. Come, let's have a shot of it!" Sarah got up and walked towards the house, Orm following in her footsteps. After the very strong strawberry margarita she was most definitely drunk. And one more shot suddenly seemed like the perfect idea.

  
In the kitchen she grabbed two shot glasses and filled them to the brim with the strong liquor.

  
"You're supposed to have both salt and lemon with the shot, but I don't have any lemons, so we'll skip the salt as well." Sarah said and gave Orm one of the shot glasses. "You have to drink everything in one go."

  
He nodded, and emptied his glass much faster than Sarah, who struggled slightly with the bitter liquid. As the warm light from the window hit Orm's face, he suddenly looked even more gorgeous than usual, she thought. Maybe it was the booze talking, but suddenly she felt the urge to draw him. She grabbed her sketchpad from the kitchen counter.

  
"May I draw you? Just a sketch. You won't have to stand still for long."

  
He nodded, and seemed unsure how to turn.

  
"How do you want me?" He asked.

  
"Naked, on top of me.." Was the first answer that popped up in her head. Thank God, she didn't say it out loud.

  
"Just stand still. Like that.." She said, gabbed her pen and started drawing. She couldn't deny that the influence of alcohol made her lines bolder, and made her hand work faster. She was quite pleased with the result.

  
As she was nearly finished, she noticed a strand of his blonde hair falling down covering half of his left eye. She frowned and let go of her sketchpad. She took a step closer to him, and her hand reached up to put the strand back where it belonged. His hair was very soft and being this close to him, looking into his blue eyes was strangely mesmerizing. Without really knowing why, she leaned closer to him and placed a small kiss on his full lips. Immediately after, she panicked.

  
"Oh, God. I'm so sorr..."

  
She couldn't even finish her sentence before he grabbed her roughly and kissed her back with a hunger that almost scared her. His tongue invaded her mouth, and he tasted like tequila, chocolate and something else that was uniquely him, and instantly addictive. Sarah dropped her pen on the floor and Orm pressed her smaller body against the kitchen counter. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her hands started playing with his hair.

  
Suddenly he let go of her lips, and let his forehead touch hers. Both of them were breathing heavily.

  
"If you only knew how long I wanted to do this to you, Sarah." He whispered in her ear. "This, and so much more.."


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally.. It took a long time for me to make this update. I'm sorry.. Writing a long and detailed sex scen, like this, was way harder than I thought it would be.. Huh.. Well, I hope it works.  
> Thanks for the kind comments and the kudos you left when I was away.
> 
> This chapter is pretty much pure porn. You have been warned. Very NSFW.  
> Hopefully I'll write the next chapter a bit faster.

She made everything so easy for him, didn't she? Orm smirked against the soft skin of Sarah's neck as he kissed his way down to her collarbone. She had kissed him. Maybe because she couldn't resist the temptation anymore, or perhaps because she was slightly affected by the alcohol? Whatever the answer was, it meant less work for him, and a step forward for his plan.

  
He grabbed her ass and lifted her up to sit on the kitchen counter. Sarah yelped in surprise, as if she thought she was too heavy for him. He smirked again. He was an Atlantean after all, and to him she weighed almost nothing. He greedily kissed her again. There was no use denying it, he really enjoyed kissing her. He liked the taste of her and her hungry, soft lips.

  
As their tongues danced together his hands went down to unbutton her blue dress. As much as he liked seeing her in that dress, she'd be even better without it. Sarah moaned into his mouth as he pulled the dress down her shoulders. He let go of her mouth and his lips moved down her jawline. He continued further down her neck to her collarbone, covering her skin with hungry kisses. His left hand went up to finally touch one of her exposed breasts. Soft and firm at the same time, a perfect handful.

  
His lips left her skin, and even though he missed the feeling of kissing her instantly, he wanted to take a good look at what he had in front of him. Sarah wasn't blushing anymore, instead she looked at him with an all consuming hunger in her eyes. Her pupils were dilated and she was breathing heavily as he grabbed her other breast with his right hand.

  
He looked up at her as he let the tip of his tongue touch her right nipple. She moaned loudly, as he slowly licked the hardening peak. A jolt of pure pleasure surged into his groin. At this particular moment it didn't make any difference if she was a damned surface dweller or not, he wanted her all the same.

  
His left hand let go of her breast, and worked on pulling Sarah's dress further down her hips. Her small hands came down to help him. He smiled at her eagerness as her dress dropped to the floor.  Soon Sarah's hands grabbed his T-shirt. This time he helped her get his own clothes off. Like as if she was in a trance Sarah let her hand run down his torso before she kissed his collarbone and continued to his left nipple. With every minute passing, his little Sarah surprised him more. He involuntarily closed his eyes and couldn't help but to groan silently.

  
He felt one of her hands go down to stroke his hard cock through the fabric of his jeans. She moaned, like she was pleasantly surprised. He couldn't help but to smirk as he looked down into her big blue eyes. So beautiful, and so hungry for his cock. Damn, her hand felt good. He got lost in her gaze, almost letting her hands loosen his belt buckle, before he composed himself. He was the one in control here, after all.

  
He let go of her, took a deep breath, and step back. Here he was, looking at her sitting on the kitchen counter with her legs spread wide, dressed in only a tiny pair of white lace panties, that left almost nothing to the imagination. The surface had its perks, after all. So much more enticing than any thick Atlantean underwear he was used to seeing. His hands couldn't control themselves anymore. He grabbed the delicate lace, and ripped the garment in two.

  
"Oh, shit!" Sarah gasped.

  
He smirked as he threw the annoying piece of fabric on the floor. It somehow would have looked a bit more elegant under water, if the garment had simply floated away with the currents, but what could he do? It suddenly occurred to him that he had never even done anything like this on the surface before, but at least, from how Sarah reacted, he probably did quite a good job.

  
He spread her creamy white thighs further apart and placed an almost chaste kiss on her smoothly shaved mound. She was just as well groomed as any lady of the Atlantean royal court.. He groaned as he spread her puffy outer lips. Her cunt was as perfect as the rest of her. Her clit was swollen as the tip of his tongue touched it, and her inner lips were small, pink, and perfectly formed.

  
Sarah moaned as he licked her from the end of her slit, up to her clit. Her hands fisted in his hair. She was already dripping wet, and she tasted a bit different from any woman he'd ever had under the sea. Her taste was slightly earthy and even more obscene, perhaps. His lips surrounded her clit, and he sucked it gently. After that, he alternated between sucking and licking, and if the sounds Sarah was making was any indication, she was very pleased with his performance.

  
"Oh, fuck. Yes!" Sarah panted high above his head, and he smiled as he kept on working her with his tongue. One of his fingers started to probe her pussy, and he soon discovered she was very tight. A groan of pleasure escaped his lips. She would feel so good around his cock. It had to have been quite some time since she'd last been with a man...

  
Suddenly the highly irritating image of some random surface dweller fucking Sarah entered his head. He groaned as he had to forcefully push it away from his mind. He focused on assaulting her clit like there was no tomorrow, at the same time as two of his digits tentatively stretched her. As soon as she was ready for it, he started fucking her with his fingers. The sounds Sarah was making were incredibly sexy, and as her juices started dripping down the palm of his hand he increased the pace. He should definitely make her come once before he fucked her for real. He angled his fingers upwards, to hit that very special spongy area inside her pussy, as he greedily alternated between sucking and licking her clit.

  
"Oh, yes! Oh, fuck, Orm, I'm gonna cum!" Sarah panted.

  
He couldn't help feeling delighted when he heard her moan his name, but hearing My King or Ocean Master would have been even sweeter... He intensified the strokes of his fingers and the way his tongue moved, and suddenly Sarah came apart. Her tight cunt convulsing around his fingers and her moans almost turning into screams.

  
He let go of her with his mouth, but kept massaging her lazily for a while until she came down from her high. With a smug smile, he got up on his feet. Sarah was resting her head against the kitchen cupboard smiling blissfully. He grabbed her roughly and kissed her on the mouth, letting her taste herself as their tongues danced once again.

  
"That was amazing.." She whispered against his lips as they stopped kissing. He answered her with a low chuckle, and grabbed her ass, ready to pick her up.

  
"Your bed or mine?"

  
"Mine. My bed is larger.." Sarah said with a smile.

  
He took her in his arms and carried her up the stairs to her bedroom, where he, quite clumsily dropped her on the bed. Outside in the garden the dogs were barking, but neither of them cared. Orm opened his belt buckle, and climbed out of his jeans. He laid down next to her, and her hands greedily started exploring his body. He felt her fingers wrap around his cock, stroking him so deliciously that he got lost in his own pleasure for a while. Again she almost had him losing control. He groaned and flipped her over, covering her with his larger body.

  
He grabbed both her hands with one of his and placed them above her head. She pushed her body against his, spreading her thighs as much as she could, wrapping one of her legs around his waist. The feeling of her wet, warm cunt against his hard cock made him groan. He needed to be inside her..

  
"I'm on the pill. Just fuck me."

  
"What?"

  
"It means I cannot get pregnant." Sarah sounded slightly annoyed by the interruption.

  
"I can't get you pregnant either.." He had made damn sure a long time he wouldn't end up with any bastard children, like his mother.

  
Orm lifted Sarah's hand to a point on his biceps. "It's an implant.." He said and Sarah wordlessly nodded as he pressed her body into the soft mattress.

  
He really liked the way her naked body moved against his. He could get used to this. Her hands travelled down his back to his ass, urging him to enter her. He let his cock slide up and down her slit a few times simply delighted to hear Sarah's very loud moans every time the tip of cock hit her clit. He couldn't help but to feel flattered. What had started as a simple plan for his own survival had turned out to be something so much more delightful.. He kissed her hungrily before he finally slowly entered her.

  
He sighed as her hot wetness embraced him. Damn, she was so tight. All his previous thoughts about secret plans and revenge, and anything else for that matter, disappeared from his mind. It was only her now. The sweet scent of her body, the small moans she made and how her cunt hugged his cock so deliciously. He fucked her leisurely at first, still holding her hands in a tight grip.

  
"Oh God.. So good." Sarah mumbled.

  
He kept his eyes open, watching every little facial expression she made. The way her lips curled every time he hit her sweet spot was mesmerizing. But still he wanted to see more. He wanted her on top of him. He let go of Sarah's hands and flipped her over. She seemed startled at first, like as if being on top made her feel insecure. He smiled assuringly, grabbed her hips and helped her set the pace, slamming her down on his cock. This way he reached deeper inside her, hitting new pleasure spots and making her moan even louder.

  
"Gorgeous.." He whispered watching Sarah's breasts bounce as she fucked him.

  
She was far from a shy girl now. She was a sinful goddess taking him closer, and closer to his release at an alarming pace. His eyes moved down to where they were connected. Seeing his thick cock stretch her tight little cunt and her juices covering his shaft was incredibly erotic. One of his hands let go of her hips and he started rubbing her clit. He was too close now, and he wanted to make her come once more before he finished. Sarah's head fell back, she moaned desperately, and started fucking him even faster.

  
"Come for me Sarah.." He groaned. "Come around my cock.."

  
As he felt Sarah's pussy start to spasm around him, he flipped her over again and started slamming into her hard, feeling himself losing control. Sarah screamed out her release, but he could barely hear it, he was too caught up in his own pleasure. He thrust into her a few more times before he pulled out, and came all over her mound and her belly.

  
He was breathing heavily as he collapsed next to her. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, enjoying the aftermath of his orgasm. He sighed deeply before returning to reality. He smiled, as his gaze travelled over Sarah's body. He had made a mess of her. She was breathing heavily, her cheeks were flushed, her lips swollen and she was covered with his cum. She was truly beautiful..

  
He kissed her cheek, and Sarah moaned in annoyance as the dogs started barking again outside the house.

  
"I need to let the dogs back inside.." She whispered and opened her eyes.

  
"I'll do it. I need a glass of water from the kitchen anyway." He said.

  
"Ok, thanks. I guess I'll clean myself up a bit." Sarah smiled timidly as she looked up at him. "Will you sleep here in my bed tonight?"

  
Orm nodded and got out of bed. She had no reason to worry, he was playing the part of her dedicated lover after all.

  
"I'll be back soon." He said, leaned down and kissed Sarah's warm, swollen lips before exiting the room.

  
As he walked out, barefoot in the backyard with a glass of water in his hand, he felt an odd emptiness inside that he couldn't really grasp. He took a sip and sat down on the porch. The dogs came up to him, wagging their tails, as per usual, but he largely ignored them. He had completed a very important step in his plan, and he should feel pleased, but yet for some reason he didn't. If he was completely honest, all he really wanted was to go back inside and fall asleep next to Sarah. He sat there for a while staring out at the dark garden and the ocean in the distance. After finishing his water, he got up on his feet, and let the dogs inside. He was probably just tired. That had to be it, he thought as he closed the door to the garden behind him and walked back upstairs.

  
Orm found Sarah back in bed, fast asleep, and he joined her under the covers. He wasn't used to sleeping with someone else, especially not any of the women he had sex with. None of them were worthy of that kind of intimacy, and Sarah wasn't either, but yet he liked the feeling of her warm sleeping body against his. This was probably what she expected of a good lover, he reminded himself once again.

  
He pressed his nose into Sarah's hair, breathing in her scent. She moaned something incoherent in her sleep as he pulled her body closer. It had been exactly as pleasurable to fuck her as he had imagined, and he would certainly enjoy doing it again soon. Sarah's scent and her peaceful breathing next to him lulled him to sleep faster than he expected, and soon he was lost in dreams of swimming in sunny shallow waters..


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see.. It took me a month to get this chapter posted, but I have no intention of leaving this fic. I've just been really busy. I'm so happy many have read this fic in my absence, and left kudos and nice comments. Thank you!
> 
> This chapter is again NSFW, just keep that in mind. Hope you enjoy!

Sara woke up slowly. Someone was kissing her neck softly and she felt a big warm hand cupping her breast, playing with her nipple. For a split second she was confused, but then she remembered. With a soft moan she pressed herself closer to Orm's warm body. The scenes from last night were still playing in her head. It was the most amazing sex she'd ever had, and just the thought of it combined with the way he touched her made her pussy tingle with arousal. Still, somewhere in the back of her mind a quiet voice wondered what the hell she was really doing. She had been drunk, and perhaps this had escalated way too fast..

  
All thoughts disappeared from her head though, as Orm's other hand moved down over her abdomen, and one of his fingers started playing with her clit. She was so wet already that she could feel her cheeks getting hot. She had no self control at all with him, apparently. As if her body acted on its own accord, she pressed her ass against his hardening cock. He was so damn big. Oh fuck, she needed him inside her again.. A very loud moan escaped her lips.

  
"Good morning Sarah." Orm whispered in her ear, and even if she couldn't see his face, she knew he had that trademark smirk on his lips.

  
"Mmm.." Was the only thing Sarah managed to answer as Orm kept rubbing her clit lazily. She spread her legs as much as she could, to give him access. Her heart was beating fast in her chest as he kept on playing with her pussy with his skilled fingers. Two of his digits probed her entrance just as they had last night, and the only thing she could do was to moan and pant helplessly. No other man had ever had this effect on her before.

  
Orm's fingers kept fucking her soaked cunt for what seemed like an eternity, never quite getting her there.. Probably on purpose. Sarah's hands were fisting the sheets, and she knew the sounds she was making were beyond obscene, but she couldn't help herself.

  
"Do you want me to fuck you, Sarah?" He purred in her ear, as she could feel the tip of his cock touching her entrance.

  
"Yes.. Please.." Oh fuck, she wanted it so much. She wanted him to fill her up, and make her cum the way only he could.

  
"On your hands and knees." He ordered, and she willingly complied, watching herself in the large mirror facing the bed. She had never thought of using the mirror like this before, but it seemed to be part of Orm's plan, and she didn't object. How strange, she thought, with the her pervious two boyfriends she would have felt uncomfortable watching herself having sex like this, but now it just made her feel even more aroused.

  
They groaned in unison as Orm entered her from behind, stretching her so perfectly. He wasn't gentle at all this time, and he didn't have to be either. This was exactly what she needed at the moment, a rough, animalistic fuck. She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes for a few seconds, enjoying the feeling of his cock slamming into her. When she opened her eyes again their eyes met in the mirror. He smiled at her, and damn, he looked gorgeous with his messy blonde hair and pale skin shining in the morning sunlight.

  
He kept on fucking her mercilessly and she felt herself getting closer and closer to her orgasm. Her body started to tremble, her arms gave out and she landed face forward in the sheets as her pussy started convulsing around his cock. Orm still held her hips in a firm grip as he continued fucking her, and she heard herself scream wordlessly as the pleasure exploded through her body like hot, white fire.

  
She could hear him groan in the distance and feel his hot cum filling her. He pulled out and she closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling of her orgasm lingering in her body and his seed slowly dripping out of her. As she opened her eyes again, she felt Orm's large warm hands massaging her ass cheeks as he watched his cum seeping out of her pussy. He looked like an artist admiring his own work, and it made Sarah smile. She guessed he had every reason to be proud, he was exceptionally god in bed after all..  
Suddenly she giggled, and Orm grabbed her by the waist and pulled her up against his chest.

  
"You like to wake up like this, don't you?" He whispered in her ear.

  
"Yeah, I think I do.." She answered, sighed and rested her head against his shoulder.

  
"Are you really going back to the ocean today?" She suddenly asked after a few quiet minutes.

  
"If you want to, I'll wait until tomorrow." He answered, and when she looked up at him, she could see him looking out the window at the ocean.

  
Suddenly she felt really stupid. Who was she to beg him to stay? He was not her boyfriend. Far from it. They barely knew each other, and they only had sex two times. Chances were it didn't mean anything to him. He had stated and shown many times that he was anything but impressed by the surface. Of course he wanted to go home. She swallowed.

  
"No, no. I just meant that maybe it's not safe to go. The monsters.."

  
"Don't worry Sarah. I'll just take a quick look around and evaluate the situation. If I see any sign of the trenchers I'll go back to the shore immediately."

  
Orm kissed Sarah's on her head and she sighed.

  
"Well, I guess we should get up. I'll have a shower before I make some breakfast for..."

  
Sarah didn't have time to say anything more before she and Orm could hear a car hitting the breaks outside her house, followed by loud music. Soon someone was banging on the door downstairs.

  
"Oh, shit.." Sarah jumped off the bed and wrapped herself in a bathrobe. She ran to the bathroom to clean herself up slightly as the banging on the door continued.

  
"Sarah, It's me, Stella! Are you in there?"

  
Sarah sighed. This was exactly the wrong time for her cousin to show up. She could of course pretend she wasn't at home, but she had a sneaking suspicion Stella was not the one to give up that easily. Sarah tried to put her hair back in place as best as she could, but it was quite a hopeless task.

  
She went over to the door and hesitantly opened it. Outside she found Stella dressed in a very short neon pink dress and high heels. She had four mugs of take away coffee in a cup holder in one hand and a grease stained paper bag in the other.

  
"Hi Sarah!" She said with a large smile that gradually turned into a knowing smirk as her gaze traveled up and down Sarah's body."Looks like someone had a fun night.."

  
Sarah felt her cheeks getting hot, but tried her best to act as if she was unaffected by Stella's amusement.

  
"Hi Stella. How do you even know where I live? I didn't tell you yesterday.."

  
"Is that the way to greet your favorite cousin? Especially when she brings you a free breakfast." Stella dangled the greasy paper bag in front of Sarah's face. "And, I called your dad, of course. He told me where you live. Nice house by the way.."

  
"Thanks.. Would you mind if I found something more appropriate to wear before breakfast?" Sarah looked over Stella's shoulder and found a man dressed in shorts and a shirt leaning against a red Ferrari. He was sporting a ridiculous fake tan, just like Stella and his black hair was slicked back in a way that made it look greasy. He lifted his hand and waved at Sarah with a huge smile on his face. She had never seen teeth as white as his before.

  
"That's Jean-Pierre." Stella pointed at the man. "I know you'll love him, but now over to you. Where is that stud you were shopping with yesterday? What was his name..Oscar?"

  
"Orm." Sarah said.

  
"Yeah, Orm. I remember he had an odd name.."

  
"He is upstairs I guess.." Sarah answered tentatively as she caught Stella staring at something behind her. As she turned around, she saw the trident leaning against the wall. Shit, this was bad..

  
"What's that?" Stella asked, pointing at the trident.

  
"Something I found in the shed. A..gardening tool, maybe? I don't really know. There's loads of old stuff here that the previous owner left behind." Sarah hoped she sounded convincing enough, but Stella barely seemed to listen.

  
"It looks kind of shiny and fancy for a gardening tool, don't you think? Might even be worth something." Stella took a few steps into the hallway, and grabbed the trident. "It's heavy as fuck. I think I've seen something similar before somewhere.. Damn, I can't remember where though. Maybe you should get it down to an antiques dealer."

  
Sarah sighed, and Stella put down the trident.

  
"Yeah, maybe I should. Listen, I need to get changed. Why don't you and Jean-Pierre go and sit down in the garden. It's kind of messy in the kitchen, and the weather is nice. I'll join you in a few minutes, ok."

  
"No problem. You don't happen to have some Nutella, do you? Would go nicely with the croissants.."

  
"I might have some." Sarah nodded and thankfully Stella disappeared out in the garden.

  
The whole situation was beyond awkward, and while Stella bringing them breakfast was a nice gesture, she wondered what Orm might think of the whole thing. Should she even tell him about the fact that Stella had seen the trident? She shook her head as she headed back to her room to pick up a clean dress and a pair of panties.

  
On the way to the bathroom, she found Orm in front of a mirror, combing his hair. He had apparently managed to take a quick shower, she wasn't going to be as lucky.

  
"Who was it?" He asked.

  
"Stella, my cousin. She is here now, out in the garden. She has brought breakfast and wants us to join.."

  
The look that Orm gave her was pretty priceless, and had the situation been different she would have laughed at him.

  
"Very well.." He simply said.

  
"Yes, sorry about this. I had no idea she was on her way here. Look, I have to clean myself up a bit. You can get changed in the meantime. Ok?"

  
Orm nodded and Sarah headed to the bathroom where she quickly washed herself as fast as she could, changed her clothes and brushed her teeth and hair. Hopefully she wouldn't smell of sex and yesterdays booze.. She swallowed as she looked at herself in the mirror, and decided that perhaps it was best if she sprayed herself with some perfume as well, just to be on the safe side.

  
A few minutes later she and Orm entered the garden, where they found Stella sitting in a chair with her legs draped over one of the armrests. She was sipping a glass of champagne at the same time as Jean-Pierre was filling the table with food. Apparently the content of the paper bag was not the only thing they had brought with them. There were cheeses, fruit and cupcakes as well.

  
"Hi Orm. Nice to see you again!" Stella shouted. From her seat. "Come here, have a glass of champagne!"

  
"Isn't it a bit too early for champagne?" Sarah asked.

  
"Oh, come on Sarah. It's never too early for champagne." Stella said and emptied her own glass, before getting up and filling two empty glasses as well as her own. To Sarah's surprise Orm grabbed a glass without hesitation. Perhaps he needed something strong to help him get through the whole ordeal?

  
"This is my boyfriend Jean-Pierre, by the way."

  
Orm behaved exactly the way Sarah had expected. He had put that slightly formal, but polite mask on, just as he had with her in the beginning. He conversed with Stella and Jean-Pierre in a way that seemed elegant and refined, even though she had her suspicions that he didn't really like either of them very much. He also politely tasted everything on the table, even if most of the dishes were obviously new to him. By all accounts he seemed to be a fast learner, and had she just met him randomly somewhere she would never have suspected he was anything else than a normal man from the surface. If anyone did anything to expose him, it was her, and her stupidity. Why couldn't she simply have shoved that damn trident into the cupboard under the stairs instead?

  
Being slightly hungover, Sarah ate greedily of everything that was offered, while Stella and Jean-Pierre did most of the talking. Jean-Pierre, like most of the men that came and went in Stella's life seemed a bit self obsessed, and materialistic, going on and on about his business, Rolex watches and cars. Orm seemed to do his best to listen to the man, but Sarah had the feeling he was utterly bored and unimpressed. So was she, to be honest. But at least the food tasted good, and Stella was her usual funny self. People called her vulgar, and over the top, but Sarah had always seen beyond that and loved Stella for her positive outlook on life and the fact that she seemed to live life to the fullest every day. That attitude was something she wished she could learn to embrace herself.

  
"So, Sarah. The reason I came here was to ask if you wanted to come to the pool party tonight. You didn't seem very enthusiastic about it yesterday, so I thought a good breakfast would do the trick. Remember how much fun we used to have a few years ago?"

  
"It's nice of you to invite us over, but I don't know.." She cautiously looked at Orm, whose facial expression was as hard to read as ever. No help there.

  
"Please. Just for a couple of hours. It will be fun, I promise."

  
Sarah sighed. Well, she guessed Orm would be ok on his own for a few hours, because she highly doubted he wanted to join her.

  
"Yeah, ok. I'll stop by tonight." She said, putting the emphasis on "I", but Stella didn't seem to notice that part.

  
"Yes! I love you Sarah! We'll have so much fun. Cheers!" Stella lifted her glass, and then she looked over at Orm.

  
"So, Orm. Where are you from? With that accent I'm pretty sure you're not one of the local boys."

  
"I'm from Norway." Orm said without hesitation, and the way he lied so effortlessly and convincingly made Sarah take a deep breath. She wanted to push the thought away, but deep down she wondered what lies he might have old her, without her suspecting anything.


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a new chapter for you.. Thanks for all the good feedback you left for me. It's also really nice to see that this story has over 4000 hits! How cool. Thank you!

"Are you sure about this?" Sarah asked, and bit her nail.

  
Orm sighed and grabbed his trident from where it was resting in the sand. It was warm and sunny on the beach and he was dressed in a pair of those odd swim shorts that Sarah had bought for him when she went shopping after Stella had left. They were brightly colored and quite ugly, but they had to do.

  
"As I said, I will only take a brief look around to see if the creatures are still lurking in the deep waters around these shores." He sounded more annoyed than he intended, and quickly made up for it by grabbing Sarah and kissing her hungrily. Of course he would be back. He had nowhere to go at the moment. Perhaps he should be flattered though. Obviously Sarah cared enough about him to be worried.

  
He let go of her and smiled. Sarah nodded, but she still looked worried as she sat down in the sand. One of the dogs sighed and laid down next to her feet while the other started digging in the sand.

  
"I'll wait here until you come back." Sarah said and pulled her shirt off. She was dressed in one of those odd two piece swimsuits that surface dweller women seemed to use frequently. Small pieces of fabric that barely covered her breasts. She showed so much skin that she might as well be naked. This would be what she would wear tonight too, at that so called pool party that Stella was hosting. Suddenly the image of horny, intoxicated men drooling over Sarah's half naked body entered his mind. Maybe they would try to touch her too? He gritted his teeth, and tried to push the image away, but Sarah had already sensed that something was amiss.

  
"What's wrong?" She looked at him with a worried expression in her large blue eyes.

  
"Nothing. Nothing is wrong. I'll be back shortly."

  
Sarah nodded, but didn't look convinced. Sometimes he was worried that she was smarter than she appeared. Maybe she would soon discover that his intentions with her weren't exactly pure. That she was just an asset for him and that he didn't truly care for her. He turned around and walked into the water. He signed with pleasure as the cool sea water touched his belly, and then as he walked further out and it reached over his shoulders he felt like he was born again. At least his desire for Sarah's body was authentic, that much was clear, he thought to himself. He had fantasised about what he wanted to do to her and all the ways he could fuck her during that utterly boring breakfast with Stella and her pathetic tool of a man. Yes, Sarah truly was a little gem in that sense. He had been stranded on the right beach, it seemed.

  
As he dove into the sea and started breathing water he chuckled. By the Gods it felt good to be back in the ocean. He could practically feel how the salty water purified and healed his body. A million times better than Sarah's slightly claustrophobic bathtub. He took deep breaths, but didn't allow himself to close his eyes and enjoy the moment. He held his trident in a firm grip and scanned his surroundings as he swam deeper and deeper and the light kept getting dimmer. Staying on the bright surface for days had made his eyes used to the light, and now everything seemed darker than usual under water. Still no signs of any trenchers though.

  
As he passed the sunken oil tanker and the sea floor took a deep dive into a bottomless trench his heart started beating faster, and he became even more alert about his surroundings. But nothing happened. Everything was eerily quiet, and peaceful. All he could see was fish and plant life. He sighed. So, the trenchers had given up on him. At least that was a good sign. He snooped around for a while looking for anything that would indicate Atlantean activity in the area, but he found nothing. If they were still looking for him, they sure weren't looking for him here.

  
Suddenly he thought about Atlanna. Had his mother given up on him too? Did she think he was dead? He swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump that was forming in his throat. He swam closer to the shore again. She would probably mourn his passing, but maybe deep inside she would be relieved that he was gone as well. He had caused her a great deal of pain and nearly plunged the world under water into complete chaos. After all, perhaps it would better if he was dead?

  
He shook his head. He had no idea what to do. The only thing he realistically could do at the moment was to try to get to the secret base, and access the situation he was in. But did he really want to go there? Were there any of his loyalists left, and if so, did he truly want to start a rebellion? He couldn't answer the question at the moment. He needed time to think. He needed to spend a few more days on the surface, with Sarah. Perhaps then he would know what to do.

  
As he swam past the shipwreck, close to the sea floor, something suddenly caught his eye. Something bright, and beautiful. It was a giant pearl, half covered in silt, but still no doubt a very valuable object. He grabbed it from the ocean floor and washed it clean. It was the kind of pearl that would adore the crown of an Atlantean queen. The color was a soft, pale peach, and it was perfectly round and as big as a quarter of the palm of his hand. In Atlantis it would be worth a small fortune, and on the surface it would be priceless. He held the pearl firmly in his hand as he swam back to the shore.

  
As he breached the surface, he saw Sarah sitting in the same spot where he left her. The dogs were behind her, under the parasol, one of them lapping water from a small bowl. Sarah's face broke up into a huge happy grin as she saw him rising from the water. For some odd reason it made his heart beat faster. Then suddenly he remembered; He owed her a fish, a salmon to be more exact. Now he only had a pearl in his hand. But to be honest, it was more than enough as payment for everything she had done for him.

  
"Everything ok?" Sarah asked as he sat down next to her in the sand.

  
He sighed. Honestly, he wasn't sure what he should answer. He supposed he was happy the creatures were no longer a threat to him, but being back in the ocean had also brought up some less than pleasant thoughts and feelings. He had thought that returning to the sea would make him see things more clearly, but on the contrary, it had made him feel even more confused.

  
"Here. I have something for you. A gift from the sea." He smiled and placed the pearl in Sarah's hand.

  
"Wow! I've never seen a pearl that big." Sarah looked down at the pearl with amazement. "This is way too much. It must be worth a fortune."

  
"Consider it payment for helping me." He said with a smile, leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She was as responsive as always, and soon he had her wrapped up in his arms kissing her passionately. Kissing her calmed him down, made all the thoughts in his head disappear, soothed his mind. He never wanted to stop, but soon she let go of his lips and looked at him with sad eyes.

  
"No monsters?" She asked and ran her hand through his wet hair.

  
"No. They appear to have given up on me. For now at least." He answered.

  
"Does that mean you will go back to Atlantis permanently?" Sarah bit her lip and looked down at the ground.

  
"Do you want me to?"

  
"Well..I mean, I understand if you want to go home to your family. If it was the other way around I would probably feel the same way. But maybe you could visit me sometime?"

  
He had to admit he was very flattered by her words, and for the first time he felt slightly bad about lying to her again, but what could he do? He grabbed her chin, and forced her to look into his eyes before he gave her his answer.

  
"I will go back to Atlantis soon. Just to tell my family and my friends that I am alive and well. I'm sure they are worried. I'll be gone for a few days, but if you want to I'll come back. I won't leave you Sarah, unless you want me to."

  
She nodded and smiled weakly. The truth was that he had no plans of going back to Atlantis. He couldn't go back there. If he did, he would be imprisoned, or even killed. He didn't trust Arthur, and certainly not Vulko or Mera. They would probably do anything in their power to destroy him, and truth to be told he had no friends to speak of that would mourn his passing. The only one who would miss him would be his mother. But none of this he could tell Sarah, of course. He still would be going back to the ocean soon though, checking out the secret base and decide what he would do next. He had calculated it would take him two days to swim to the base and back and the idea of the trip was less than appealing to him.

  
"Look, we should go back to the house. I'll have to get ready for the pool party. Are you really sure you don't want to go there with me?" Sarah asked, and Orm sighed.

  
No, he really had no desire to go to that idiotic party that Stella was hosting. He was not afraid that anyone would recognize him as an Atlantean. He knew he could certainly blend in quite well, but it was probably stupid to show his face in public too much. He was pretty sure the Atlanteans had no intention of notifying the authorities on the surface about his identity, at least as long as they thought he was dead. If they suspected he was hiding on the surface however, it was a completely different story. But then again, his thoughts returned to Sarah. The thought of those drunken disgusting surface dweller men staring at her, drooling over her made him feel sick. He simply couldn't allow it. At the moment she was the only thing he really had.

  
"If we don't stay for long, I'll go with you." He reluctantly said and Sarah rewarded him with a big smile.

  
"Yes! Thank you. I think we might have fun tonight."

  
Orm was pretty sure he wouldn't have fun, but at least he could pretend that he enjoyed the whole debacle. He was good at pretending after all. He thought back at all the celebrations and grand galas he had to endure as a king. None of them were particularly enjoyable. it was always him sitting there, high up on his throne like a statue dressed in shining armor watching his subjects celebrate and have fun. It was times like that when he felt more alone than ever. Totally isolated from the world around him. He pushed the thought away, and got up on his feet.

  
"Let's go then." He said, grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her up on her feet.

* * *

  
Two hours later the sun was going down and Orm and Sarah walked along a small road towards Stella's parents' house. Sarah had promised they would take something called a taxi back home, and he had found the walk to the house quite refreshing. The open landscapes were truly beautiful in the sunset, and he found it strangely comforting walking hand in hand with Sarah. She had helped him pick out clothes for the occasion, and she had combed his hair back with some kind of product that made it stay in place even as it dried. He probably looked like a proper land dweller now, he guessed.

  
He could already hear the sound of chaotic surface dweller music and see the lights from Stella's house and garden. Although he didn't look forward to the party he had to admit that he was slightly curious as well. Only a couple of weeks ago, he would never in his wildest dreams have imagined he would do something like this. It was funny, and ironic how life could change so drastically in such a short amount of time.

  
As they came closer to the house he could see that the garden was full of people, and he could hear them laughing and chatting around the pool. Some were dancing, others swimming or splashing water at each other. One man was floating on something that looked like a giant pink bird made of plastic. It looked rather silly. He looked over at Sarah, who was smiling. He sighed as he saw Stella running towards them. She was dressed in a minimal gold colored swimsuit, that made her look even more ridiculous than ever. Her breasts looked odd, he thought. way too round, and ridiculously big for her skinny body.

  
"Finally, you showed up. I thought you weren't going to come at all." Stella hugged Sarah and proceeded to drag her towards the pool area where she handed over a glass of champagne for each of them.

  
Orm sat down on an empty chair and scanned his surroundings. There seemed to be a lot more men than women at the party, and none of the other females were even close to as attractive as Sarah. At least in his opinion. But who really knew about surface dweller beauty standards anyway. He sipped his champagne quietly and soon he caught one of the men staring at Sarah. The man was quite tall, had brown, curly hair and sharp features. He could be considered as somewhat attractive for a weak surface dweller male, Orm supposed. Of course Stella seemed to notice him staring as well, and dragged the man over to Sarah and him.


	12. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too far between my updates, again. Thought I would update more often when I was on holiday, but turned out I had far more to do than ever. Well, anyway, enough of my excuses. Here is an extra long chapter for you.  
> And, it is NSFW. Sex, drinking, drug use and violence.. All of that good stuff in one chapter.  
> As always thanks for kind comments and kudos, bookmarks and so on!

Sarah swallowed, and looked hesitantly at Orm, who thankfully at the moment, looked more or less indifferent. He had risen from his chair though, and watched as Stella dragged Theo over to them. Theo was probably the last person she wanted to see, and Stella should know that. What was he even doing here? It wasn't like he and Stella were friends. In fact, they barely knew each other.

  
"Look who's here Sarah!" Stella yelled over the loud music, and pushed Theo towards Sarah.

  
"Hello Sarah. It's been a while. How are you?" Theo said like it was the most natural thing in the world before he flashed a pearly white smile.

  
"I'm fine. Thank you. And how is Chantelle?"

  
Theo laughed nervously.

  
"I have no idea, to be honest. We broke up four years ago. Haven't seen her since."

  
"Ok..." Was the only thing she had to say. For years now she had secretly planned a snarky come back if she ever met him again, but now she didn't have anything to say, because she didn't care. Not even a bit.

  
"This is Orm, by the way. Sarah's boyfriend. He's from Norway." Stella said, and pointed to Orm who looked as stoic as ever.

  
"Nice to meet you." Orm nodded, but didn't say anything as he took the other mans hand. After that they all became oddly silent. But she could see that Theo was staring at Orm with a snarky smile on his lips, and Orm was staring back at him with cold eyes. She felt him wrap his arm around her waist. She sighed.

  
"I think Orm and I will go inside and get something to drink." Sarah finally said awkwardly. Theo nodded and she dragged Orm with her into the house.

  
"You know where you can find the good stuff!" Stella shouted after them.

  
Inside, the large living room was empty and dimly lit. Even if they could still hear the music and the chatter from the party goers, it was much more quiet here. Sarah led Orm downstairs to the heavy door that lead to the wine cellar. Orm looked around with curious eyes. This house was much, much different from Sarah's own. It was large, modern and luxurious. The drawings were made by her father, but this house was even larger and more over the top than his own villa near by.

  
"Are these people wealthy by surface dweller standards?" Orm asked as he studied a statue next to the wine cellar door.

  
"Yes, they are. Very wealthy. Stella's dad is a multi millionaire. He is married to my dad's sister."

  
Orm nodded as Sarah finally found the key to the wine cellar under a pot on a table next to the door. The hiding place was the same as back in her late teens when she and Stella used to sneak in and grab a bottle or two before they went together to a party or headed out to one of the clubs in town.

  
"Who is he?"

  
"You mean Theo?"

  
"Yes."

  
Sarah sighed as she guided Orm down the stairs. The wine cellar was a stark contrast to the rest of the house. It was made to look like the kind of wine cellar you could find at some random, picturesque French chateau. Well, at least it was cool down here.

  
"I used to date him. When I was younger. Until he hooked up with my best friend behind my back. They got married, and he broke my heart. I have no idea what he is doing here."

  
"Do you want him back?" Orm looked at her intensely as she grabbed a bottle from one of the shelves. Dom Perignon Vintage 1995. She frowned.

  
"No. Not in a million years. Did you really think that?"

  
Orm's face softened a bit. If she didn't know better he almost seemed a bit jealous a moment ago, and for some reason it made her heart flutter. Maybe he felt something more for her besides the physical? He was so difficult to read. She smiled as he pulled the cork from the bottle with a loud pop. It was an expensive bottle, but Stella owed her this after causing that awkward moment in the garden earlier on.

  
"I used to hope I'd never meet Theo again, ever. He is not a good person. Last time I heard anything about him he was involved in some kind of pyramid scheme. He is a bit of a scam artist as well as an all round shitty human being."

  
Sarah took a sip straight from the bottle and handed it back to Orm.

  
"What is a pyramid scheme?" Orm asked after drinking almost half of the bottle. Obviously he had a taste for expensive champagne.

  
"Well, it's complicated. I can show you some stuff about the subject on the internet when we get home. Basically it is a way to scam people. Take their money."

  
Orm nodded.

  
"It was a horrible thing he and your friend did to you." He said quietly and handed the bottle back to Sarah.

  
"Yes, but thankfully it's a long time ago now. Ever had that happen to you?"

  
"Well, in a way yes. But the situation was different.."

  
Orm grabbed another champagne bottle from one of the shelves.

  
"1989. My birth year, on the surface. Let's try it." He said and opened the bottle without even asking, and Sarah giggled. It wasn't like Stella or her parents were going to miss the bottle, but clearly Orm had no idea how expensive that champagne was. Still, she was curious about his story.

  
"Would you care to tell me?"

  
He drank some champagne before he looked at her and slowly nodded.

  
"I was engaged to be married. It was an arranged marriage, but that kind of arrangement is quite common among the upper classes in Atlantis. We want to keep the bloodlines pure. Only nobles can breathe both water and air. I had known her since I was a child. We were never in love, but at least I thought she was my friend. Someone I could trust. But then she betrayed me and ran off with another man.."

  
"I'm sorry to hear that. Though an arranged marriage sound like something from the middle ages.."

  
"That is our way, and our duty. I thought we had both accepted it was the way our lives would be. I would have treated her well as my wife."

  
Sarah nodded, but couldn't help to feel a bit weird about the whole thing. Clearly there were many things that she had yet to learn about Atlantis and its people.

  
"The man she ran off with. Was it a friend of yours as well?"

  
"It was my half brother." He said and looked down at his hands.

  
Sarah took a deep breath. Now she could really understand why he was bitter about the whole thing. She took a few steps towards him, leaned in and placed a light kiss on his soft, full lips.

  
"Maybe she had no idea what she's missing out on." She said and looked into his eyes. Orm smiled, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes as he pulled Sarah closer to him.

  
"You really think so?" He whispered in her ear and started kissing her neck, and continued down to her shoulder.

  
"Mmm.. Yeah." Sarah whispered with a smile on her face as he pushed down her shoulder strap and let one of his hands slide into her bikini top to cup her breast. He chuckled softly as his thumb started rubbing her nipple.

  
"M..maybe we shouldn't do this here." She whispered halfheartedly. But truth to be told the place and the situation actually turned her on more than she liked to admit. The possibility of being exposed was thrilling. Her clit was throbbing in an almost uncomfortable way, and all she really wanted was to be touched, fucked, satisfied..

  
Orm pulled her closer, and she could feel how hard he was. Her hands roamed down his chest and started undoing his belt at the same time as she got down on her knees. The thought of his thick cock in her mouth had been there, in the back of her mind, since this morning. It was only fair she would give him a really good blow job after he had eaten her out last night. She freed him from his pants and his length twitched in her hand. Damn, she couldn't even reach all the way around him with her fingers. Her pussy tingled as she timidly kissed his leaking tip before she moved on to drag her tongue along his length. She loved the taste of him.

  
Sarah moaned as she sucked him in and started working him with her mouth. He stretched her lips so good. Her pussy clenched as Orm grabbed her hair, urging her to go faster. His sexy groans filled the air in the wine cellar as he fucked her mouth, but never to the point she was gagging. She looked up at him, and damn, he looked gorgeous with his lips parted, helpless and moaning. Her swimwear bottoms were ruined at this point. She could feel how wet she was, and all she really wanted was for him to push his hard length into her aching cunt.

  
She could feel he wasn't far from getting his release, from the sounds he was making. His grip on her hair tightened and he started pushing her face down further, until she was gagging on his cock. Fuck, this was even hotter than she imagined it to be. She tried to moan as he kept on fucking her face, but the only thing that came out was a muffled groan. Her pussy twitched at the sounds they were both making. She waited for his hot seed to coat her mouth and her throat.

  
But that satisfaction never came.. With what seemed like a last, desperate effort, Orm grabbed her head and pulled her off his cock, leaving her panting on the floor.

  
"Didn't you want to cum?" She finally moaned, a mix of saliva and pre cum running down her chin.

  
"Yes, but you didn't.." He smirked and pulled her up on her feet.

  
His large hand grabbed her chin and she met his ocean blue eyes.

  
"I don't think you wanted me to cum in your mouth Sarah.. I think you want me to fuck that greedy, wet cunt of yours until we both cum. Am I correct?"

  
Sarah nodded silently as Orm grabbed her ass and lifted her up on the same table as he had previously been leaning against. His fingers loosened the knots in her swimwear bottoms, and ripped them off, exposing her dripping and hungry pussy to him. She moaned as the fat tip of his cock started rubbing against her aching clit and soaked entrance.

  
"I need you. Inside me. Please.." She panted, and tried desperately to rub herself against his hard cock.

  
He chuckled. She wrapped her legs around his waist, desperately urging him to enter her.

  
"You're so beautiful Sarah.." He whispered in her ear, and slowly kissed his way down her neck, finally pressing his hard cock inside her. She sighed in delight, and her nails pressed into the firm flesh of his back, encouraging him to fuck her.

  
And he did, roughly, almost violently. Sarah moaned and pressed herself closer to him. She wanted him deeper inside her. Fuck, she was lucky to have found someone like him. She sighed, and he fucked her, as if his life depended on it. Hard and unforgiving, just like she wanted him to. He pressed her against the rough store wall behind her, and she spread her legs even further, as he kept thrusting into her. His cock hit the right spot once again. How was it that he could do that every time, when most other men she had been with failed miserably? She thought, as her walls started constricting around him and her eyes rolled back. Fuck, she was going to cum so hard..

  
Sarah felt a strong wave of pleasure run through her body, and she screamed out her release, with no control whatsoever. Damn, it as a good thing they were underground behind a heavy door.. She smiled and she could vaguely feel Orm kissing her neck, and holding her shaking thighs in his strong arms. She was a dizzy mess as he kept on fucking her until he came deep inside her, filling her with his warm seed. Sarah's head fell back against the wall, and they were both breathing heavily. Her legs were still wrapped around his waist, and she didn't really want to let him go. She sighed as she felt his hand cup her face. Slowly she opened her eyes.

  
"Are you ok?" He asked and looked into her eyes, a tired, but knowing smirk playing on his lips.

  
She nodded.

  
"I just came really hard.."

  
He looked pleased as he slipped out of her and left her sitting on the table. She was still a bit too out of it to move the rest of her body, but she stretched out her hand to grab one of the champagne bottles. She took a sip before speaking.

  
"There should be a bathroom somewhere down here. We need to clean up a bit I guess." Her voice was slightly harsh and lower than usual.

* * *

Half an hour later, Sarah opened the heavy door to the basement, and was met by a wall of sound and chatter. Some of the party goers seemed to have moved inside and the loud music, some kind of 80's retro synth pop, filled the living room. An annoying guy dressed in a mint green Miami Vice suit was doing silly dance moves in the middle of the room, and some drunk girl had passed out in one of the sofas with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. Sarah giggled when she saw the expression on Orm's face.

  
"Welcome to the surface. A place where anything is possible.." She whispered in his ear, but he didn't seem amused.

  
She could hear Stella's voice from the kitchen to the left. Sarah found Stella sitting on one of marble kitchen counters smoking what looked like a joint, surrounded by two other women that Sarah thought she remembered from somewhere, but she couldn't quite place. One of them was a petite Asian girl dressed in a neon yellow bikini, and the other girl was a super skinny blonde in a pink kaftan. Both were giggling, and sipping on colorful drinks.

  
"Oh, there you are!" Stella leaned back against the kitchen cupboard and put the joint out in a crystal ashtray before drinking the last of her strawberry Margarita with a loud slurp. "I see you really found the good stuff..." She slurred and pointed at the champagne bottle in Sarah's hand.

  
"Yeah. Hope you don't mind?" Sarah said. "I think we might be on our way ho.."

  
"No way. You just arrived. One more drink, at least!" Stella slid down from the kitchen counter and pointed at Sarah.

  
"You girls remember Sarah, my cousin, don't you?" The two women nodded absent-mindedly as Sarah grabbed Stella's' arm.

  
"Hey, I need to talk to you for a second.."

  
"Ok, over a drink then." Stella giggled, grabbed Sarah's hand, and dragged her out in the garden, where it was even messier and more chaotic than before. On a giant pool float a couple was making out, and Sarah started panicking as she looked back at the house and couldn't find Orm anywhere in the crowd. This was not good, and she was slightly tipsy.

  
Stella dragged her over to the bar, where she loudly shouted at the bartender to make her two strawberry margaritas. Her high pitched voice was nearly drowned by the loud music and the chatter. Sarah looked nervously around. Still no sign of Orm. She didn't like the fact that he was left behind like this. It was an unfamiliar environment for him, but hopefully he had been smart enough to stay behind in the kitchen.

  
She sighed as Stella pushed a large ice cold Margarita into her hand.

  
"Come on Sarah! Don't be such a bore. Let's party! Cheers" Stella clashed her glass into Sarah's and they both took a sip. At least the drink cooled her down a bit, but it was also awfully strong. If all drinks served here were equally strong it was no wonder people were so out of it. In the bushes behind them someone was puking.

  
"Why did you invite Theo?" Sarah asked.

  
"I didn't. He just showed up. Apparently he is friends with some guy that Jean-Pierre knows."

  
"And you thought it was a good idea to force me to talk to him?"

  
"Are you mad at me? Or still not over him?" Stella said with a cheeky smile, and kicked off her high heeled shoes. Sarah sighed and rolled her eyes.

  
"I'd be much better without seeing his face, thank you very much.." Stella looked slightly surprised.

  
"Well, I'm sorry then. I thought I did you a favor. Since you are here, looking hot and dragging around a man that looks much better than that stupid scammer. I just wanted to help you get some payback, and.."

  
Stella couldn't finish her sentence before they both heard a loud scream from the house. Sarah's heart started racing, and she ran through the crowd as fast as she could. In the kitchen, she found Orm and Theo with a small crowd gathered around them. Theo had a smashed bottle in his hand, and Orm was holding his wrist in a firm grip. Orm's T-shirt and the floor was covered in red wine and Theo was screaming in pain. The bottle fell from his hand and the glass broke against the stone tiles on the floor.

  
"You're breaking my arm you fuckin' psycho!" Theo squealed like a pig, and Orm finally let go of Theo's wrist. Two other guys grabbed Theo from behind, and pushed him up against the wall.

  
"Oh my God!" Stella screamed behind Sarah's back.

  
"He smashed the bottle and tried to attack that other guy!" A girl babbled and pointed at Theo and then at Orm.

  
Sarah took a deep breath. Orm looked like he was about to explode. It was almost like his eyes were glowing faintly. She ran over to him.

  
"Hey. Are you ok?" She said. "Let's go home.." She wrapped her arms around him, and finally he sighed and seemed to calm down.

  
"Get him out of here!" Stella shouted, and the two guys holding Theo down started dragging him out in the garden. He seemed weak and defeated now, and did nothing to resist.

  
"I'm calling the police." Sarah heard a female voice say behind her. This was exactly the kind of attention they didn't need.

  
"Hey. I think we're ok here. We'll just go home.." She looked straight at Stella, who for once in her life seemed to understand that Sarah meant business.

Getting the police involved in this was the last thing they needed. It would end in disaster. She started dragging Orm out of the house, and Stella tried her best to calm the other party goers down. This had turned into such a mess, and the only thing she could hope for was that if they made a quick exit, everything would go back to normal at the party. Hopefully the whole thing would only be a footnote in their memory the next day.

  
She sighed as she held Orm's hand and dragged him through the crowd in the garden. At least here, most people seemed oblivious to what had happened inside the house, and it made her relax slightly. She hoped Theo wouldn't cause more trouble, but with him she could never be quite sure. It was pretty obvious he was not exactly right in the head. Had probably never been, in fact. She was just too young and naive to see it when they started dating.

  
As they finally left the garden and the party behind and started walking along the quiet country side road towards the coast, and Sarah's house she finally asked:

  
"What really happened over there?"

  
Orm stopped and looked at her. His face calm as usual.

  
"That man, Theo, walked over to me and started saying things about you. Things I do not feel the need to repeat here. Things that I know for a fact aren't true. I simply told him to shut up and leave. Then he tried to attack me."

  
Sarah swallowed.

  
"Did he hurt you?"

  
Orm suddenly laughed. His laugh a low chuckle she could barely hear.

  
"He could never hurt me Sarah. I am a trained Atlantean warrior, and he is only a weak surface dweller. Even here, on the surface, where I'm out of my element, my strength is far superior to a simple man like him. I could have killed him with one hand if I wanted to. And in Atlantis it would have been my right to do so. I simply didn't want to make a scene or cause any trouble for you or myself."

  
"Well, this is not Atlantis. This could have ended badly.."

His cold demeanor made her feel slightly nauseous. As much as she disliked Theo, she didn't want him dead, and Orm seemed way too casual when he spoke about killing people. It made her wonder what kind of life he had lived before they met. Perhaps she shouldn't think about it now, though, she concluded. He had been nothing but nice to her, and perhaps he was simply upset with what had happened, and spoke without thinking.

  
Orm sighed, like he was annoyed by her comment.

  
"Yes. I am well aware of that…"

  
Sarah sighed.

  
"I'm sorry. I should never have let Stella convince me to go to that stupid party. Then none of this would have happened."

  
Orm nodded.

  
"Let's just go home now. I'm really tired, and I think we both need to sleep."


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while.. Still not giving up on this story though. Thank you all for reading, commenting and giving kudos!  
> No warnings in this chapter..

It was odd really, how much his life had changed. Days had turned into weeks, and the weeks had turned into a month. More often than not Orm came upon himself thinking that he wished he had the power over the passage of time itself. Being on land had felt uncomfortable at first, but now it was almost like second nature to him. Yet, he knew that he had to go back to the sea sooner rather than later. It was inevitable.

  
"But I can always come back." He assured himself as he stared up into the ceiling.

  
It was around four in the morning, and he could get no sleep. He was laying there, naked on top of the duvet, with one of the dogs stretched out over his feet and ankles. He should probably move the animal, but for some reason he didn't feel like disturbing it, since it slept peacefully. Next to him Sarah was asleep as well, under the covers. A lock of her hair covered his chest. He didn't want to move it either.

  
The heat bothered him more than it bothered Sarah of course, especially at night, but tonight he suspected that it was more than the temperature that kept him up. It had been this way lately. Almost four weeks had past since he had been stranded on the surface. After the complete train wreck that was Stella's party, he and Sarah had kept mostly to themselves, besides a cleaning session on the beach with Sarah's neighbor Mr. Smith and some grocery shopping.

  
That cleaning session, well, it hadn't been exactly voluntary either, at least on his part. Every cell in his body had been against the idea of helping two surface dwellers cleaning up their own mess. Junk, and debris he himself had ordered to be washed up on the beach. Still, he was no fool, and him refusing to help would only have seemed suspicious. Angus Smith was a bit of a drunk, that much was obvious, but he was certainly not an idiot.

  
Orm had to swallow his pride and work for a whole day on under the scorching sun, collecting plastic, driftwood and garbage. In the end the beach was once again pristine and Mr. Smith had praised him for being effective and very strong. The old man had even offered him some foul tasting liquor from his flask, and jokingly told Sarah she should "put a ring on it", whatever that meant. He sighed. He still had a lot to learn when it came to surface dweller expressions.

  
He sighed and felt a sudden urge to feel Sarah's body close to him. He carefully moved the dog to the side. It growled silently in its sleep, but didn't wake up as he slipped under the covers and pressed his body against Sarah's sleeping form. He felt a hint of shame as he did so, but still let his hand roam over the curve of her hip as he pressed his nose into her hair. Sarah moaned quietly in her sleep.

  
If only his father could see him now, he thought. What a disgrace. His son, the mighty King Orm of Atlantis, cuddling up next to a filthy surface dweller. Orm was certain he would have been at least disowned and beaten, or most likely killed if Orvax was alive to see it. A disgrace he was, and a failure. Yet, somewhere deep down in his mind the thought of his father's anger and disappointment gave him a certain kind of satisfaction as well.

  
In her sleep Sarah pressed herself closer to him. And he closed his eyes, breathing in her scent. She always had a relaxing effect on him, and to him relaxation used to be a foreign feeling. He had slowly learned to like it though, just as he had learned to appreciate spending his time doing nothing important. To pass the time, he sometimes helped Sarah with small tasks like mowing the lawn or cleaning the house. She was always patient with him, even if he had no idea how to do anything in the beginning. To keep in shape they both used to go for long runs together, in the morning or in the evening. He liked it. It was a simple existence.

  
One day there was a large package delivered to the house. Sarah had surprised him with clay and tools for making sculptures. The material was foreign to him, but after some failed attempts, he slowly made progress. As he and Sarah worked together in her studio time seemed to fly by quickly, and Atlantis seemed very, very far away. He sighed. Some days he could almost understand his mother now. The freedom and simple life the surface offered him was strangely addictive..

  
He must have fallen asleep at some point, because when he woke up it was sunny outside, and Sarah was gone. He got dressed and walked downstairs. He found her sitting in the garden with a cup of coffee in her hand. She was looking out over the sea, but turned around as she heard him walking towards her.

  
"Can you feel it? There is a hint of fall in the air today. Summer will be over soon."

  
He shook his head. He had no idea what she meant. He was not familiar with the small changes in weather on land, but she was probably right. He sat down next to her and Sarah rested her head on his shoulder.

  
"Did you sleep well?" She asked.

  
"No. Not really." He said. He saw no reason not to be honest in this case. He knew that this day was coming sooner than later. "It's time for me to go. Back to Atlantis. I shouldn't have waited this long, but you know how to distract me.." He wrapped his arms around Sarah and she giggled silently.

  
"Well, that's nice to hear at least.. How long will you be gone?"

  
He sighed. If he really had been on the way to Atlantis the trip would probably take him at least seven or eight days, but now he would most probably be gone for only five. Maybe even less depending on the circumstances.

  
"If I leave now I'll be back in five days." He finally said.

  
Sarah nodded.

  
"I'll wait for you on the beach then. I promise. But before you go you'll need to eat something. I'll make you a really big sandwich with loads of bacon and avocado."

  
"That sounds good.." Orm tried to sound as cheerful as he could, but to be honest, he did not look forward to the days ahead. Even if the ocean itself tempted him every minute of the day with its cool breeze and rich, salty smell, he knew the dangers of going back. Anything could happen. Perhaps Sarah would be waiting for him a lot longer to come back. Maybe forever.

  
The way to the secret base was long, and avoiding any Atlantean outposts on the way made it even longer, and more tedious. The waters he swam through were among his favorites in the world, teeming with wildlife and mind blowing sceneries, but he only felt anxious and indifferent to most things around him. His days, evenings and mornings were spent swimming, and he didn't allow himself to rest very much. He ate what he could catch, and when he slept, he slept in cold and dark caves hidden from the world around him, with his trident close to his chest. His dreams were often restless, odd and chaotic. The only time he slept peacefully was when his dreams took him back to Sarah, holding her warm soft body in his arms. When he awoke, he cursed himself, not knowing if he did so because he really missed her or because he was furious at himself for missing her.

  
On the third day he could finally see the underwater mountain range where the secret base was located. It had taken him longer than expected to arrive. He would not make it back in time, as he had promised Sarah, he realized as he swam closer. The entrance to the base was well hidden, looking like a narrow, natural cave. He hesitated a moment before entering the cave, perhaps there would be a force field that protected the empty hangar? There was not. There were no ships anywhere to be seen, and no signs of people.

  
His heart started beating faster. There was no sign of struggle, weapons fire or any dead bodies. The people that had been here at some point had simply left. He shook his head and swam further into the complex. He found a storage room with boxes containing mostly junk, and a few left over containers with military field rations. His stomach was growling, and he helped himself to a few of the gelatinous protein cubes. They tasted just as bad as he remembered, but at least he wouldn't starve. Luckily he also found a small communication device, that worked. It might come in handy. He put the small disc shaped object in one of his pockets.

  
After eating, he continued his way through the complex. Empty rooms. No weapons left anywhere, a few rooms with bunk beds. He sighed. At least he wouldn't have to sleep in a cold cave tonight. Suddenly his musings were interrupted by a familiar sound. It sounded like an animal struggling somewhere close by. He raised an eyebrow, and swam in the direction the sounds were coming from. Could anyone be stupid enough to forget an animal when they left a place like this?

  
"Idiots.." Orm growled silently to himself as he swam around the corridors.

  
But then, suddenly, he stopped dead in the water. He was standing next to a huge window, and behind the force field in front of him was a chained, raging Tylosaurus. The animal looked scared and starving. It had been struggling against its chains for so long that the metal had started to dig into its flesh. The wounds were bad, and there was blood in the water. Orm's hands turned into fists.

  
"Keith! What have they done to you?"

  
He rushed over to the panel next to the window, and tried to get the force field down as fast as he could. He would kill them all for leaving Keith here like this to die! Yes, he knew that the only person that could truly handle the beast was him, but still they could have let the animal go free. How long had it been since Keith had been fed? He looked weak and starving. Orm's blood was boiling, as he finally managed to get the force field down.

  
It was a possibility the animal could be a danger to him as well at the moment, but he was willing to take that chance. He swam into the hall where the Tylosaur was chained up, and as soon as he did, the animal seemed to calm down slightly. He swam up over its back and lay down on its neck. He tried to breath slowly as he calmly let his hand glide over the scaly skin.

  
"I'm here now. I'll help you. Don't worry." He said, and he could feel the animal slowly calming down. He sighed. Here they were together, both broken and forgotten. He needed to find some food for the animal, but first he needed to unchain it.  
With his trident he managed to quickly cut the metal collar, and after a few chaotic moments riding around the room, and bouncing against the ceiling a few times the beast seemed to calm down. Orm sighed as he finally managed to close the force field behind him. Looking at Keith he felt bad about leaving the poor animal alone again, but it was the only possibility at the moment.

  
"I'll be back shortly, with food for you." He said.

  
Sarah would have told her dogs "Mommy will be back shortly..", he suddenly thought. He laughed quietly. She was always there in the back of his head wasn't she? Well, at least he wouldn't start referring to himself as "Daddy" in front of the Tylosaurus. He was not ready for that yet.

  
Outside it was getting darker, and Orm desperately needed to find something for Keith to eat. A few salmons wouldn't do much for a large, starving animal like Keith. What he needed was something substantial, that could be cut up in pieces. A shark or a small whale would be suitable perhaps. He swam around with his trident a bit over an hour before he finally found something promising. A giant octopus. It was twice as big as himself, but he managed to kill it easily and drag it back to the base.  
Cutting the dead animal into pieces was a dirty job, very much beneath him, but it had to be done. Orm sighed as he watched the Tylosaurus greedily swallow the first pieces of meat, after that he went searching for medical supplies, the wound on Keith's neck had to be taken care of before he even thought about resting.

  
The evening turned into night as he fed Keith with a few hours in between and looked after the animal's wounds. It was nearly morning when Orm finally had time to rest. He fell asleep on one of the narrow bunk beds, but his sleep was as restless as it had been the night before in the cave. He dreamt of being hunted by the creatures from the trench, and he woke up with a stiff neck and his heart beating fast in his chest.

  
He shook his head, got up and grabbed some of the left over field rations before checking on Keith. He was fast asleep, and seemed to be healing well. Orm didn't want to disturb him and the next feeding could probably wait a few more hours. In the mean time there were things he needed to do, things he had no time for the night before.

  
He swam around the base until he found what he was looking for. The control room. It wasn't much to see really. It seemed like his loyalists had been somewhat ill prepared, and that was probably partly why he was alone here now, he suspected. He sighed and tinkered with one of the abandoned consoles. He was by no means a genius when it came to technology, but he knew the basics. If he was to access the Atlantean computer network there were a few steps he needed to take to make sure no one could trace the signal here.

  
As he worked with the console he wondered what Sarah was doing. It was almost noon, and he suspected she was probably done with her breakfast, maybe painting in her studio or out for a walk with her dogs. He had promised to help her move some paintings to a gallery in town on Saturday. It now was Thursday. Chances were he wouldn't make it back in time. He sighed. Why did he even care?

  
He shook his head and sighed as he finally powered up the console and the holographic screen popped up in front of him. The first thing he looked for being news about himself. Dead. Or at least presumed dead, more leaning towards dead, seemed to be the general verdict. Him being dead had also made the supporters he had left to give up. Not that they seemed to be that many to begin with. He snorted.

  
Damn, the media in Atlantis were just as bad as its counterpart on the surface. Now they praised Arthur, and called Orm a tyrant, mad man and a bad king. By the Gods! He had given his life for Atlantis, he had done what he thought was right, and this was the way they thought about him! Slandering a dead man, and praising a damn half breed who had no idea how to run the greatest kingdom on earth. Why? Because he happened to have that damn trident, and had apparently been able to sign some kind of treaty with the surface.

  
The more he read, the angrier he got. No one seemed to remember the good things he had done for Atlantis. They only remembered all the lives that were lost in the great battle, and blamed it on him. Hadn't the surface dwellers killed millions more with their pollution over the years? Damn them. He slammed his fist into the console, and the holographic screen flickered. He gritted his teeth.

  
Arthur and Mera were married now. Thousands of cringeworthy pictures of the happy couple dressed in priceless clothing and jewelry. Even Arthur's weak and worthless surface dweller father had attended the ceremony. He was sitting inside some kind of submarine. Probably built especially for him and payed for by Atlantean tax payers. His mother looked happy. Vulko looked overjoyed. The traitor was probably very proud of himself.

  
No one missed him, Orm, the man who had tried his very best to be a great king. They were happy he was gone. As his mother used to tell him; Atlantis was not forgiving. She was right, but at least he had hoped she would be. He had been wrong again. From what he could understand she had left Atlantis after the wedding to be with Arthur's father on the surface. She had done nothing to try to find Orm. Simply left. She was probably just as happy he was dead as the rest of the world under water.

  
Suddenly he started crying. He cried, uncontrollably like a baby, sinking down to the floor, leaning his head against the console. And he didn't care. He was no one and he was completely alone. This was the way he would spend the rest of his life, as an outcast, never seeing Atlantis again. The only place he had to go back to was the old house by the beach. Back to Sarah. At least she would welcome him with open arms.


End file.
